DMK vehicle blockade to Kerala withdrawn as CPI-M leaders intervene
Nov 25, 2006 - 2:38:58 AM
, Reviewed by: Priya Saxena
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The CPI-M general secretary Praksh Karat and politburo member Sitaram Yechury spoke to both the chief ministers and asked them to sort out the differences at next Wednesday's meeting.
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By RxPG News Service,
[RxPG] Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 24 - A near day-long road blockade on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border at three places by angry DMK workers ended Friday after the Communist Party of India-Marxist - top brass met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on the Mullaperiyar dam issue.
Trouble erupted on the border at three places - Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Thekkady - when the DMK supporters waylaid vehicles Thursday afternoon after divers of the Indian Navy were asked to dive into the dam to find out about the increasing water level at Mullaperiyar. The dam, though located in Kerala's Idukki district, is owned and maintained by Tamil Nadu and irrigates large tracts in that state.
As soon as news of the divers being requisitioned by the Kerala government spread, irate DMK workers started stopping the movement of goods into Kerala state.
The stoppage resulted in serpentine queues of trucks and buses Friday at Palakkad, on the border with Tamil Nadu, extending to more than 20 km. The same was true at Thekkady and the state capital.
'Forty buses belonging to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation - were held up at various places in Tamil Nadu and buses were stoned at two places,' said KSRTC managing director T.P. Senkumar.
The issue was resolved after CPI-M leader Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury discussed the issue with Karunanidhi.
Vegetable vendors at Kochi and here heaved a sigh of relief as the first batch of vehicles carrying vegetables started arriving into the state late Friday evening.
'It was a harrowing time for us as the police and DMK workers started harassing us when we were stopped near the Kerala border,' said a lorry driver.
'Prices of vegetables have already shot up. However, the movement would be back to normal in another 12 hours,' said officials of the Traders Association at Kochi.
Trouble between the two states began ever since the present water level in the 111-year-old dam rose to above the prescribed level of 136 feet. The current water level is 138 feet.
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.
Meanwhile in New Delhi, Kerala MPs met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought his intervention in resolving the issue.
'The prime minister assured us that he would use his good offices to resolve the problem. He said he has already spoken with the Tamil Nadu chief minister,' said Suresh Kurup, MP from Kottayam.
The CPI-M general secretary Praksh Karat and politburo member Sitaram Yechury spoke to both the chief ministers and asked them to sort out the differences at next Wednesday's meeting.
Karunanidhi had threatened to pull out of the proposed talks in New Delhi if Kerala went ahead with its move to get naval officers to check the security of the dam without the permission of his government.
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