Kerala steps up campaign over Mullaperiyar dam

Kerala today stepped up its campaign for a new dam at Mullaperiyar with all political parties and voluntary outfits organising protests across the state and in New Delhi seeking urgent central intervention to persuade the Tamil Nadu government to agree to the proposal.

Cutting across political lines, activists of various parties and resistance groups enforced a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Idukki district, where the 116-year-old dam is located. Joining hands for the cause, MPs belonging to both the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led LDF staged a sit-in before Parliament in New Delhi.     While Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he expected that the dispute with Tamil Nadu would be resolved amicably without delay, state Finance Minister KM Mani asserted that Kerala would not go back on its demand for a new dam as the existing one posed a dire threat to over three million people.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala wrote letters to leaders of various political parties including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, urging them to support his state's case.

Protesters blocked roads linking Kerala and Tamil Nadu at Kumily and other entry points. The hartal passed off peacefully, police said.

Political lobbying over the issue gained momentum with state Water Resources Minister PJ Joseph and Revenue Minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan rushing to New Delhi to discuss the matter with senior cabinet ministers and central leaders of Congress.

Kerala MPs, cutting across party lines, staged a dharna in Parliament House complex seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's immediate intervention in the vexed Mullaperiyar dam issue.

The MPs from Congress, Kerala Congress and CPI(M) sat on a dharna infront of Gandhi statue in the complex this morning holding placards--'Water for Tamil Nadu, Safety for Kerala'.

Increase in water inflow into the reservoir touching slightly above the maximum permissible storage level of 136 ft and recurrence of tremors in the area had heightened fears about the safety of the dam. Meanwhile, the BJP has called for a day-long hartal tomorrow in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Idukki districts. Kerala has been pressing for immediate central intervention to persuade Tamil Nadu to agree to the proposal of a new dam at Mullaperiyar, holding that the present structure posed a threat to nearly three million people, mainly in Idukki, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts.

However, holding a contradictory view, Tamil Nadu has opposed construction of a new dam, asserting that the present reservoir "is as safe and good as new" and accused Kerala of whipping up fear psychosis.