Amidst reports of the Tamil Nadu government boycotting an informal meeting on Monday called by the Central water ministry to discuss the Mullaperiyar issue with the Kerala government, the ministry is now planning to call a formal meeting with the two governments. A date will be fixed soon as per the convenience of both the states, informed sources said.
The ministry had contacted the Tamil Nadu government for holding an informal meeting in the sidelines of the ministry’s general meeting with all the states on Monday. The decision had come after the ministry got a direction in this regard from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resolve the dispute over the century-old dam. While the Kerala government agreed to attend the meeting, the TN government refused to have any informal discussion on the matter.
The Kerala government will, anyway, hold discussions with the ministry on Mullaperiyar issue in the absence of the representatives from the TN government.
Meanwhile, two other important meetings are lined up in the national capital on the dam row.
The full bench of National Human Rights Commission will discuss the issue on being received a memorandum from the Kerala MPs to take urgent “humanitarian” action.
The SC appointed empowered committee has its internal meeting on Monday, which will discuss TN’s rejoinder to Kerala’s detailed project report (DPR) on constructing a new dam.
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Jaya asks PM to deploy CISF TO GUARD DAM
age Correspondent
Chennai, Dec. 4
Expressing serious concern over the incidents of mob violence in Kerala threatening the safety of the Mullaiperiyar Dam, chief minister Ms Jayalalithaa on Sunday urged the Prime Minister to immediately deploy the central industrial security force (CISF) to protect the 116-year-old dam from “man-made catastrophic consequences”.
In a letter to the PM, she said a mob of 200 people had damaged the gate of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board facility at the dam on Saturday and today (Sunday), some lumpen elements marched towards the dam with a JCB and some implements with the intention of letting out water and damaging the dam.