'TN dragging Mullaperiyar issue to court again'

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 21: Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan today alleged that Tamil Nadu was unilaterally dragging the Mullaperiyar issue to the court once again by succumbing to the pressure from opposition politicial parties there.

''It is regrettable that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was accepting the arguments of Ms Jayalalithaa and Mr Vaiko. Even in Kerala, there are such arguments emerging from certain leaders. But our intention is to settle the issue amicably,'' he told newspersons after a meeting of the state cabinet.

He pointed out that even at the latest round of talks held between the two states as per the direction of the Supreme Court, there was a consensus for further rounds of discussions to resolve the issue amicably.

Even Union Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz, who mediated the talks, had not stated that the discussion was a failure.

However, the Tamil Nadu government had unilaterally changed its stand by deciding to approach the Supreme Court again on the issue.

To a question, Mr Achuthanandan said there was no move to reconsider the decision to give water from Neyyar dam for Tamil Nadu in view of the new development.

Pointing out that the water level in the 111-year-old dam was retained below 136 ft since 1979, he said the dam was situated in an earthquake prone area and in the event of any eventuality, it would affect the lives of 3.5 million people living in five districts.

UNI

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