Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 10 (IANS) The only way to end the long-standing impasse between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar dam is to build a new dam with a new agreement, a Congress leader here said Sunday.

"There is no question of raising the water level in the dam from the present 136 feet to 142 feet as demanded by Tamil Nadu. It has lived its life and now it should be de-commissioned. It is already leaking," said senior legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.

"I am leading a delegation of six Congress leaders to the dam site tomorrow (Monday) along with experts and environmentalists.

"We will submit a report on our visit to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. We expect both leaders will take a political and administrative decision to end the impasse," said Radhakrishnan, a former water resources minister.

The dam, located in Kerala but managed by Tamil Nadu, was built in 1895 under an agreement signed in 1886 between the erstwhile Maharaja of Travancore (now in Kerala) and the British administration in the Madras presidency.

It granted rights to the Madras presidency to construct and maintain the dam located in Travancore and divert the water to irrigate arid lands in Madurai region.

Tamil Nadu has been demanding that the water level be raised but Kerala fears this could pose a serious threat to the old structure.