> Mullaperiyar row:Talks fail,Deadlock continues

knoughtyd

Mullaperiar Dam Built in 1895

The meeting between the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, over sharing of waters of Mullaperiyar dam, has ended in a deadlock.

The Chief Ministers met on Wednesday after the Supreme Court orders that the states should resolve the issue over the table with an open mind to find a solution.But Tamil Nadu continues to insist it wants to raise the water level at the dam, which Kerala says can damage the 110-year old dam.

In the presence of the Union Water Resources Minister, Saifuddin Soz, the Chief Ministers agreed to disagree over changes to a dam on the border of their states - a controversy serious enough to erupt in political violence last week.

The irrigation ministers of both the states will meet again after two weeks.

Talks on the Mullaperiyar dam issue failed to break the deadlock with both the states sticking to their stated positions as Tamil Nadu shot down Kerala's offer of building a new dam to resolve the problem.

The irrigation ministers of both the states will meet here within two weeks in the presence of Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz to discuss the issue further.

"The talks were cordial and the ministers of both states will sit together to narrow down the differences," Tamil Nadu PWD minister Durai Muragan said after the talks between Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M Karunanidhi.

During the 90-minute long meeting, Kerala suggested construction of a new dam near the existing one as a "solution" but the Tamil Nadu side not relenting to the propasal saying that it was not feasible.

Soz said that irrigation ministers of both the states would meet here in the next fortnight to carry forward the dialogue and submit a report to their Chief Ministers.

Karunanidhi told the meeting that in pursuant to the suggestion of Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu has come for the meeting with an "open mind" to find a solution to the vexed issue which was adjudicated by the apex court in its order on February 27 this year.

Observing that Tamil Nadu had completed all the major strengthening works with the concurrence of Kerala government, he said according to the experts, the dam was safe and there was no need for any doubt about safety aspects.

Raising the water level in the dam to 142 ft was absolutely necessary to irrigate the lands in about two lakh acres in the drought prone districts of Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram, he said.

"The dam has been designed to withstand the effect of the earthquakes anticipated. When such is the position, I think we are not doing any justice by thrusting an opinion in the minds of the public, that the dam may burst if the water level is raised to 142 ft," Karunanidhi said.

ET

I personally feel tat rasing the Water Level on 100 yr old Dam is utter rubbish coz its already leaking like hell and increasing the level would add more pressure to be handled by already leaking dam....

And If unfortunately it gets burst it wud be real big disaster...

dipdude · 01:36 AM

^ Well if they have strengthened the dam and has all the requisite approvals - no reason why they should not go ahead with raising the water level.

And btw - whats the objection about New Dam - if the costs are shared between the center and the states - its good for the area. Any infrastructure project brings with it ton's of cash and job opportunities which are good for the local population.

Logic of both the states is beyond me