On a day when Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought his intervention on the Mullaperiyar dam imbroglio, the AIADMK MPs too met Dr Singh and alleged that Kerala was resorting to create a fear psychosis in the minds of the public through the media over the
safety of the dam and was attempting to influence the report of the Supreme Court’s Empowered Committee. Mr Chandy and the AIADMK MPs submitted separate memorandums to the Prime Minister detailing their points of view over the issue.
The Kerala chief minister told Dr Singh that the judicial process is taking an inordinately long time to resolve the dispute and pressed for the Centre’s intervention to allay the people’s fear on the dam’s safety.
Mr Chandy also called on Union water resources minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and sought to conduct a study on the safety of all the century-old dams in the country.
Regretting the Tamil Nadu chief minister’s rejection of Kerala’s standpoint on the safety aspect of the dam, Mr Chandy said in his memorandum, “It is unfortunate that the Tamil Nadu chief minister has replied to my letter, on the same day, summarily rejecting our fears as unfounded, unreasonable, based on extraneous factors and not connected with ground realities.”
He added, “A beginning (on discussions) can be made only if Tamil Nadu realises that the danger arising out of this weak dam is real and is not a figment of imagination. Any delay in taking action at this stage can result in huge loss of life and property. If that happens, history will not pardon any of us,” he said. He requested the PM to direct Tamil Nadu to immediately bring down the water level to 120 feet.
Later, while addressing the media, Mr Chandy accused the Tamil Nadu government of adopting double standards on the issue of safety when it comes to Koodankulam nuclear plant and Mullaperiyar dam.
“Kerala has repeatedly affirmed that we are committed to provide the same quantity of water to Tamil Nadu. We are ready to have a tripartite agreement in the presence of the Central government or to sign an agreement in court,” Mr Chandy told mediapersons.
The AIADMK MPs, led by its Lok Sabha floor leader Mr Thambidurai, said in their memorandum that their neighbouring state was trying to influence the report of the top court-appointed empowered committee.