Achuthanandan criticises Tamil Nadu on Mullaperiyar dam
Nov 24, 2006 - 1:13:02 AM
, Reviewed by: Priya Saxena
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The current water level is 138.50 feet - a new high in recent times.
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By Indo Asian News Service,
[RxPG] Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 23 - Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Thursday said Tamil Nadu was trying out arm twisting tactics on the Mullaperiyar dam issue ahead of the talks in Delhi Wednesday.
'Tamil Nadu's threat to withdraw clearly indicates their defence that the dam is safe and there is no problem in increasing the water level will fall flat,' Achuthanandan told reporters at Kollam, 70 km from here.
Achuthanandan's remarks follow Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanandhi's comments at a press conference in Chennai threatening to boycott the Delhi meeting after the Kerala government sent divers from the navy to inspect the condition of the dam.
As the rising waters in the 111-year-old Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district threaten to spill over and swamp nearby villages, Achuthanandan said there was no question of being silent and the interest of the state would be protected at any cost.
'Some 3.5 million people in five nearby districts are living in fear and we will certainly act at any cost, irrespective of what action Tamil Nadu takes.'
While Karunanandi said that Kerala did not take permission to send out the divers into the dam, Achuthanandan said Tamil Nadu government officials were informed about it.
'We have withdrawn the divers after the central government intervened,' said Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran.
Meanwhile, angry supporters of various political parties of Tamil Nadu prevented the smooth flow of inter state vehicles from Palakkad and Munnar near the Tamil Nadu border.
Kerala is heavily dependant on food items including vegetables and meat from Tamil Nadu.
Trouble between the two states began ever since the present water level in the dam rose to above the prescribed level of 136 feet.
The current water level is 138.50 feet - a new high in recent times.
The rising waters of the dam, situated 240 km from here on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, prompted the local administration last week to alert villagers living on the banks of the Periyar river to move elsewhere.
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