Normal life was on Monday hit due to a dawn-to-dusk hartal called here by the ruling Congress-led UDF and Opposition LDF protesting Tamil Nadu's stand over Mullaperiyar issue and Centre's 'reluctance' to mediate on it.

Cutting across political lines, activists of various parties and resistance groups protested over delay in endorsing their demand of building a new dam at Mullaperiyar, over which the state has been locked in a tiff with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Protesters blocked roads linking Kerala and Tamil Nadu at Kumali and other entry points, although no violence was reported from anywhere, police said.

Meanwhile, political lobbying over the issue has also gained momentum with state Water Resources Minister P J Joseph and Revenue Minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan rushing to New Delhi to discuss the matter with senior cabinet ministers and central leaders of Congress.

The Left MPs are also planning to raise the issue in Parliament to force the national parties to spell out their views on the vexed issue.

Increase in inflow into the reservoir touching slightly above the maximum permissible storage level of 136 feet has heightened fears about the safety of the dam among people in the area and adjoining districts.

Kerala had been persistently arguing that the dam posed a dire threat to lives and properties of over 3 million people in Idukki, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts.

As an urgent measure, the state wants the water level to be lowered to 120 feet.

'TN will get its water'

Resenting Tamil Nadu's silence and the Centre's alleged hesitation to mediate and resolve the row, the government and the opposition stressed that Kerala will not curtail water to Tamil Nadu by even a drop after the new dam was built.

According to experts, the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam is one of world's few surviving dams built mainly of lime-and-surky mix as most such structures in other parts of the globe have been scrapped and new ones built in view the threat posed them to people.

The dam was built over a century back by British engineers as part of a 999-year-long lease agreement signed between princely state of Travancore and the Madras province under the British rule.

Kerala has buttressed its case by producing several experts studies that pointed to the precarious condition of the dam located in seismic-prone area.

Recurrence of tremors in recent times has been cited by the state to reinforce its case seeking urgent Central intervention by persuading Tamil Nadu take a supportive stand.

Renjith to skip Awards ceremony

Meanwhile, Malayali film director Renjith has declined to participate in Monday's Kerala State Film Awards distribution ceremony, in which his film Pranchiyettan and the Saint has won 'Best Popular and Artistic Movie' award, saying he would collect the award after a solution is found to the Mullaperiyar Dam dispute.

Renjith told reporters that he could not take part in the function when the people of three districts of the state are 'living in the grip of fear as the water level in the dam is rising alarmingly'.

However, his decision to keep away from the function was 'not a case of rejecting the valuable award', he said.

The Corporation Stadium here is decked up for the three-hour long cultural extravaganza as part of the 41st State Film Awards distribution function this evening. Tamil film actor Suriya and Malayalam film actor Dilip will be the chief guests and Tamil playback singer Karthik will be among the performers.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will present the awards for the year 2010.