Idukki: Normal life was hit on Monday due to a dawn-to-dusk hartal called here by the ruling Congress-led UDF and Opposition LDF protesting Tamil Nadu's stand over Mullaperiyar issue and Centre's "reluctance" to mediate on it.
Cutting across political lines, activists of various parties and resistance groups protested over delay in endorsing their demand of building a new dam at Mullaperiyar, over which the state has been locked in a tiff with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Protesters blocked roads linking Kerala and Tamil Nadu at Kumali and other entry points, although no violence was reported from anywhere, police said.
Meanwhile, political lobbying over the issue has also 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.
The Left MPs are also planning to raise the issue in Parliament to force the national parties to spell out their views on the vexed issue.
Increase in inflow into the reservoir touching slightly above the maximum permissible storage level of 136 feet has heightened fears about the safety of the dam among people in the area and adjoining districts.
Kerala had been persistently arguing that the dam posed a dire threat to lives and properties of over 3 million people in Idukki, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts.
As an urgent measure, the state wants the water level to be lowered to 120 feet.
Resenting Tamil Nadu's silence and the Centre's alleged hesitation to mediate and resolve the row, the government and the opposition stressed that Kerala will not curtail water to Tamil Nadu by even a drop after the new dam was built.
According to experts, the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam is one of world's few surviving dams built mainly of lime-and-surky mix as most such structures in other parts of the globe have been scrapped and new ones built in view the threat posed them to people.
The dam was built over a century back by British engineers as part of a 999-year-long lease agreement signed between princely state of Travancore and the Madras province under the British rule.
Kerala has buttressed its case by producing several experts studies that pointed to the precarious condition of the dam located in seismic-prone area.
Recurrence of tremors in recent times has been cited by the state to reinforce its case seeking urgent Central intervention by persuading Tamil Nadu take a supportive stand.
Comments
0 comment