AK Antony meets PM to seek peaceful solution to Mullaperiyar dispute

Amid mounting tension between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the Mullaperiyar dam, Defence Minister AK Antony on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking a peaceful solution to the dispute.

His meeting with the prime minister took place on a day Kerala Assembly unanimously passed a resolution insisting on a new dam to replace the 116-year old reservoir and UPA ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) expressed dissatisfaction with Centre over its handling of the issue.

The prime minister is learnt to have informed Antony that all efforts are being made by the Centre to bring the two warring states to the negotiating table for amicably settling the dispute.

This is for the third time that Antony met the prime minister after the issue generated heat both in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, sources said.

The issue has snowballed in the last two weeks with Kerala raising the pitch for the new dam citing safety concerns about the existing structure.

Tamil Nadu has charged Kerala with whipping up panic and moved the Supreme Court for a direction to deploy CISF at the dam site, the scene of protests.