Mullaperiyar dam row: Tamil Nadu lawmakers protest against spread of propaganda

Lawmakers from Tamil Nadu staged a demonstration outside the Parliament in Delhi on Thursday in protest against the alleged spread of propaganda against the Mullaperiyar dam by their counterparts from neighbouring Kerala state.

Lawmakers from Tamil Nadu's ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party accused the Kerala lawmakers of exaggerating about the deteriorating condition of the dam.

"Unnecessarily some MPs of the opposition side, they are creating some problem. It is unwarranted. They are creating some kind of wrong propaganda in the country and also in our house, telling that the dam is in a dangerous condition," said AIADMK lawmaker Thembi Durai.

"The dam is very well constructed for thousand years purpose and it is only 112 years old. There is some seepage, but it is a permitted thing that is going on. But they are magnifying this thing and politicising it. Therefore, we are requesting our Kerala MPs and Kerala people, not to succumb to this kind of wrong propaganda," Durai added.

Durai further accused the Kerala government of not implementing the orders issued by the Supreme Court to raise the water level to 142 feet.

"The matter is pending in court. Our honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu went to the court previously and got from there some kind of direction, but Kerala is not at all implementing that direction. They have to raise the water level up to 142 feet, but they have not raised it. But they are giving wrong kind of publicity to create political... they are doing politics," said Durai.

"Therefore, we humbly request all our brothers not to give in to such kind of propaganda, the matter is pending in the Supreme Court and Supreme Court has also constituted a panel. Let the panel find and give recommendation, until that, nothing is going to happen," he added.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has insisted on decommissioning the British-built Mullaperiyar dam and constructing a new one to banish all fears of either his state or neighbouring Tamil Nadu benefiting exclusively from the present one.

"We are not in a position to wait. The reports from experts are giving very serious warning to us," he told mediapersons in Thiruvananthapuram.

Chandy said he has met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to discuss the issue and added that he is also ready to meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J J Jayalalithaa to resolve the dispute.

He, however, said there is an urgent need to reduce the water level at Mullaperiyar to 120 feet to ensure the safety of about three million people.

Chandy said Kerala is ready to give water to Tamil Nadu and allow the latter to maintain the water level in the dam at 136 feet.

"We are very anxious about the safety of Mullaperiyar dam, and very concerned about it. We have already decided to give the full quantity of water to Tamil Nadu. Our slogan itself, that is not a new slogan, it is 'water for Tamil Nadu, safety for Kerala," he said.

After mild tremors were felt in the region of Mullaperiyar dam on November 26, several protest rallies urging to the government to act in reducing the height of the dam were staged.

On Wednesday, leaders of Kerala's ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and opposition CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) visited the dam, pledging support to ongoing protests in the area demanding construction of a new dam in place of the 116-year-old structure.