Even as the monsoon is intensifying in the central and northern districts of the state, some districts, including Thiruvananthapuram, are praying for good rains. In Thiruvananthapuram, sixty-five percent less rainfall has been recorded till last Monday. So far, only a quarter of the normal rainfall has been received. A piece of news seen the other day, even as people are worried about the lack of rain, is surprising. The news was related to the release of water from the Aruvikkara Dam as it was overflowing with water. The district received moderate rain on Tuesday. One can assume the storage capacity if the dam was filled with such a low amount of rain. It should also be remembered that four of the six shutters of the dam have to be raised to release water, when many areas of the capital city are facing water scarcity. Aruvikkara Dam, which has to raise its shutters as soon as it rains heavily, cannot store even half of its installed capacity. The situation of Peppara Dam which supplies water to Aruvikkara is even worse. Since the construction of the dam, no maintenance has been done there. There has been no cleaning of the catchments or removal of silt and sand from the dam. If conservation measures are not taken for the silted-up and collapsing Peppara-Aruvikkara dams, the capital's drinking water shortage will worsen. However, there is no indication that those in charge have such a thought and that is worrying.

This is almost the situation in most of the dams in the state, and not just Peppara and Aruvikkara. A plan to remove sand from the dams was devised to prevent the dams from collapsing due to the accumulation of soil and silt. A plan for this was included in a budget when Dr. Thomas Isaac was finance minister. An income of Rs 1,000 crore was also expected from the sale of sand. Unfortunately, the project budget did not leave the paper.

A few years ago, a sand removal project was started at the Aruvikkara dam. However, a controversy started even before the project did. The project did not last long amid political controversy and uproar. This is the land of those who take pleasure in striking out an innovative venture at the start rather than aiding in its success. They will not accept any experiments. Those who enter the arena with determination will be chased away as well. The challenge posed by the fickleness and uncertainty of the monsoons should not be taken lightly. In a state with a large number of rivers and streams and a large number of small and large dams, water storage and utilization has become a matter of vigilance. So many bitter experiences have already been received that there should be no compromise in the scientific management of dams. More attention should be paid to dams used for agriculture, drinking water and power generation. Increasing the storage capacity of dams depends on many factors and permissions but their storage capacity can be restored if proper conservation measures are taken. There is no point in blaming the weather. If the government does what has to be done in the field of water conservation, that should be enough.