Mullaperiyar dam row: Oomen Chandy, TN MPs to meet PM today

Mtoday news / NDTV

New Delhi, Dec 02:  Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today to discuss the Mullaperiyar dam row. MPs from Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, the AIADMK, are also slated to meet the PM over the same issue.

 

 

Yesterday, the two warring sides - Kerala and Tamil Nadu - engaged in open fire over the dam. First, Oomen Chandy wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, asking her to reduce the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam, mainly for safety reasons - the structure is more than 100 years old and the region where it is located has seen several tremors lately, at least 20 since July.

However, Ms Jayalalithaa sent an acerbic reply in which she referred to "unwarranted provocations from across the border" and "the fear psychosis generated in Kerala." She said that contrary to Kerala’s claims, there have been four minor tremors in the area, none of them close enough to the dam to merit concern.

The heated exchange came after Ms Jayalalithaa took the Kerala government to court over the dam row. In the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu argued that the Kerala government "is spreading panic among the public about the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam which is not true." Ms Jayalalithaa has asked the court to stop officials in Kerala from commenting on the possible construction of a new dam.

The lengthy and bitter hostility between the two states has already seen the PM’s intervention. In a letter written to Ms Jayalalithaa, Dr Singh said yesterday that "nothing should be said or done to create undue alarm" over the dam.

"I am sure that, given goodwill on both sides, an amicable and mutually acceptable solution can be found through a process of dialogue and communication. I have accordingly advised the Ministry of Water Resources to arrange an early meeting between the officials of the two sides to sort out outstanding issues and allay genuine concerns," he further added in the letter. (Read PM’s letter here)

The PM has also asked the Water Resources Minister to meet Kerala and Tamil Nadu officials and discuss the issue.

The dam is located in Kerala but it is controlled entirely by Tamil Nadu. Ms Jayalalithaa says the fears over the dam collapsing are unwarranted - and stirred up by politicians in Kerala because they want to restrict how much water is sent to Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has asked the state government to explain what it’s doing to protect lakhs of residents from the potential disaster of the dam crumbling. The Kerala Assembly has called a special session to discuss the dispute.

The dam’s structural safety was also questioned in 2008 when experts from IIT Roorkee suggested that it may not be able to withstand a quake measuring more than 6.4.

The Mullaperiyar dam was built in 1895 in Kerala on the River Mullayar and its tributary, the Periyar. The water is diverted eastwards to service farmers in Tamil Nadu. Kerala has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the fact that all benefits from the dam accrue to Tamil Nadu.