Dam Safety Bill will harm Tamil Nadu interests, says Vaiko

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko has alleged the Centre's proposed Dam Safety Bill was aimed at helping Kerala which wants to build a new dam across Mullaperiyar to replace the exisiting reservoir under the control of Tamil Nadu.The bill will badly affect Tamil Nadu and the country's unity would be harmed if the century-old dam was allowed to be demolished under its provisions, he told the party's state-level conference in Tirunelveli late last night.The dam is situated in Idukki district of Kerala bordering the two states. While Kerala is pressing for a new dam citing safety aspects, Tamil Nadu has opposed it holding that the state would not get sufficient quantity of water which it now gets to irrigate parts of southern districts.Vaiko also said the Tamil Nadu government should take action to protect the dam and prevent any move to demolish it.Meanhile, a team from Central Water and Power Research Station in Pune, led by scientist VD Desai, inspected the dam yesterday to assess its strength.The team planned to conduct various tests on September 26 to assess the dam strength, officials said today.Journalists from both the states were not allowed when the team visited the site.