Mullaperiyar: MDMK chief Vaiko asks partymen to celebrate

 MDMK chief Vaiko on Saturday said the lowering of shutters of the surplus weirs in the Mullaperiyar dam to raise the water level to 142 ft was a victory for restoring the rights of Tamil Nadu and asked his cadres to celebrate it. People belonging to the five districts - Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram have welcomed it, he said in a statement.

"It is a victory for the agitation undertaken by the people of Southern Tamil Nadu. I appeal to my cadres to celebrate it in the five districts", he said. Recalling the series of agitations by his party across the Southern region of Tamil Nadu demanding to increase water level in the dam, he said farmers from 578 villages took part in the agitation as the dam was their only livelihood. "In order to restore the rights of the Tamil Nadu and to let justice prevail, the AIADMK government took up the matter with the Supreme Court", he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday said in the Assembly that "the act of downing the shutters in Mullaiperiyar in order to raise its storage level to 142 ft is a victory for the people of Tamil Nadu. More than a victory, it is justice delivered."