TN government bans screening of Dam999

CHENNAI: Amid demands from various quarters, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday banned the controversial film Dam999—due for release on Friday—with immediate effect.“The film’s story would create a fear psychosis among people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu by indirectly hinting that Mullaiperiyar dam would collapse. As it would also create law and order problems in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has directed that the screening of this film be banned in the State”, Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi said in a statement.He said the film depicted a corrupt Mayor constructing a weak dam, which collapses and washes away lakhs of people including children. The film’s director Sohan Roy had told the media that the film was based on a dam collapse in China in 1975, and that he hoped the TN government, seeing the film, would extend cooperation for construction of a new dam, considering the grave outcome if the 116-year old dam indeed collapsed.