Idukki, Nov 26 (IANS): A day after a Kerala minister warned of the threat to the over 100-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam due to an earthquake, slight tremors were experienced early Saturday in this district.

The earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Ritcher scale was reported at 3.15 a.m and the epicentre was at Upputhara village in Idukki district, 30 km from Mullaperiyar Dam.

John Mathai, scientist at the Centre for Earth Science Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, told IANS: "Five poorly constructed houses suffered damages."

Some parts of Kottayam district also experienced such slight tremors.

Similar tremors have been reported in the district for the last four months.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerheads over the Mullaperiyar Dam built under an agreement signed in 1886 between the then Maharaja of Travancore and the erstwhile British administration.

While the dam is located in Kerala, its waters serve Tamil Nadu. In recent years, Tamil Nadu has demanded that Mullaperiyar's storage capacity be increased by raising the dam height from 136 feet (41.5 m) to 142 feet (43 m) to meet the increasing demand of water for irrigation.

While Kerala has been demanding a new dam, which it has offered to build and fund by itself, Tamil Nadu is vehemently opposed to the idea. To break the deadlock, the Supreme Court earlier this year had set up a high-level empowered committee to look into all issues, including the safety aspects, of the dam.

Kerala Water Resources Minister P.J. Joseph had said Friday: "Twenty tremors have been experienced in and around Idukki district in the past four months."

"A team of experts from IIT-Roorkie (Indian Institute of Technology) has said if a quake measuring 6 on the Richter scale takes place, the dam will not survive and three million people living in and around the district would be gone," he added.