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Tuesday, Jun 16, 2009
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Mullaperiyar: Central intervention sought

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran on Monday called for urgent Central intervention to resolve the dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the safety of the113-year-old Mullaperiyar dam.

Releasing the highlights of an expert committee report on the deterioration of the upstream face of the dam, the Minister said Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan would write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his early intervention for a political settlement of the dispute. Mr. Achuthanandan would also write to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

Mr. Premachandran said the committee had reported that there was no alternative other than the construction of a new dam downstream to replace the old dam. No amount of rectification work could salvage the existing dam. It was unfortunate that Tamil Nadu was opposing the construction of a new dam, putting the lives of thousands of people at risk.

He said that Kerala was continuing the survey on the new dam. However, it could not start construction of the dam until the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the case filed by Tamil Nadu. Since it would be risky to wait until the court settled the matter, the Kerala government wanted a political solution. Unlike the DMK and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, there were no differences of opinion between the two major political fronts in Kerala on the Mullaperiyar issue. Kerala had repeatedly stated that it was willing to provide water to Tamil Nadu. Replying to a question, the Minister said another examination of the dam’s condition by the Central Water Commission would not be acceptable to Kerala. It preferred a study by international experts.

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