Mullaperiyar row at flashpoint

Chennai, Nov 24: The Mullaperiyar Dam dispute has reached a flashpoint with Tamil Nadu threatening to pull out of the next week's Centre-mediated talks with Kerala.

The immediate provocation for the face-off was Kerala's decision yesterday to send a Naval team to inspect the 110-year-old dam, lying on the border between the two states. While Kerala maintained it was within its rights as the safety of its people was in danger, Tamil Nadu was outraged Kerala could make such a move for a dam under its administrative control, that too with the talks a few days away.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi immediately wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to stop the Kerala government's 'unlawful' activities. ''If Kerala continues to indulge in such unfair and provocative actions, it is not possible for Tamil Nadu to participate in the talks,'' he said in the letter.

Responding, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achyutanandan said Tamil Nadu could withdraw from the November 29 talks in New Delhi if it wanted to. ''Tamil Nadu's threat was borne out of fear of losing its arguments at the meet,'' he said.

The Navy was called in to examine the dam's safety and Tamil Nadu feared its findings would adversely affect its arguments in favour of raising the dam's height, Mr Achuthanandan said.

Calling Mullaperiyar Kerala's ''sole property'', the Chief Minister maintained it was given to Tamil Nadu on lease.

Meanwhile, inter-state border areas near Coimbatore and Theni were tense since yesterday, with political workers from the DMK, PMK, Congress, farmers and traders blocking roads and trains. They refused to allow transport of essential commodities to Kerala. To defuse tension, Mr Karunanidhi today appealed to stop the agitation.

The DMK ally, PMK too condemned Kerala's step, with its founder president Dr S Ramadoss saying if Kerala continued its 'indifferent attitude', the Tamil Nadu Government should boycott talks. Meanwhile, after Tamil Nadu objected to the Navy inspection, the Centre intervened and the Kerala Government gave up the mission. The Mullaperiyar row stems from Tamil Nadu's wish to raise water level from 136 ft to 142 ft. Though the Supreme Court in February gave directions that this could be done, Kerala objected strongly, and brought in a legislative amendment to stop the move.

Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court again, and the latter suggested the two states could sit at the negotiating table and thrash out the matter. Hence the November 29 talks.

When Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister Duraimurugan visited the dam last week, he was gheraoed by a group of people, which used abusive language. He appealed to the Prime Minister and Home Minister to deploy Central security forces in the area for protection of Tamil Nadu government staff, in the wake of alleged threats.

In Kerala, the opposition United Democratic Front led by the Congress offered full support to the ruling UDF, with former Chief Minister Oomen Chandy expressing concern over the safety of about 35 lakh people living around the 110-year-old dam.

In Tamil Nadu, however, it was a divided house, with the CPI(M), part of the ruling coalition, not taking part in the agitation.

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa urged Mr Karunanidhi to stop 'betraying' the people of Tamil Nadu and to take steps to raise the height of the dam.

He was not adopting an aggressive stance as his family had commercial interests in Kerala, she alleged. If her party had been in power, it would have definitely raised the dam height, she claimed.

Vaiko, General Secretary of the MDMK, an ally of the AIADMK, said the ''adamant attitude'' of the Kerala government was condemnable. He said Mr Karunanidhi had failed to take up the issue with the Centre while Kerala leaders had met the Prime Minister twice earlier.

Dalit Panthers of India (DPI), a DMK ally, called for an economic blockade on Kerala. General Secretary Thol Thirumavalavan said Kerala was fully dependant on supply of rice and other food commodities, including vegetables, from Tamil Nadu and the people of the state should teach a suitable lesson to the Kerala government.

With the Mullaperiyar Dam Rights Retrieval Commitee calling for a picketing agitation at Coimbatore, Theni and Nagercoil on December 4, it seems likely that tensions will rise before they subside.

UNI