New Delhi:
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention for an early solution to the Mullaperiyar dam row. The Chief Minister, who met Dr Singh today, described as unfortunate Tamil Nadu's stand dismissing fears over the dam's safety.
The people were anxious after "continuous comments" on the issue, Mr Chandy said after meeting the Prime Minister. Earlier, he met the Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
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 engaged in open fire over the dam. First, Mr 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.
Tamil Nadu, however, has been demanding that the dam's water level be increased to meet its growing irrigation needs.
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.
But Mr Chandy today reiterated that building a new dam was one of the options which should be considered. "We are ready to give full assurance to Tamil Nadu on water" he said.
"There are two limitations for the Centre. The matter is with the Supreme Court and this is a dispute between two states," he said, adding that his government was ready for discussions on the issue .
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 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.
The Kerala High Court has also taken up the matter after a batch of petitions on the dam's safety. Today, it pulled up the state government and asked it to explain what it's doing to protect lakhs of residents from the potential disaster of the dam crumbling. The state government said that at least 450 families living near the dam would be evacuated soon.
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 Kerala Assembly has called a special session on December 9 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.