Settle disputes through talks: Chandy

Chennai, Aug 23 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly Oommen Chandy today said the row between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over Salem Railway Division and Mullaiperiyar dam could be sorted out through talks.

In a brief chat with newspersons after a 30-minute meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at the Secretariat here, he said the people of the two states were like one family.

''There should not be any room for quarrel between them on any issue'', he said, when asked for his comments on the Salem Railway Division and the contentious Mullaiperiyar dam issues.

''Both the Dam issue and the creation of Salem division should be resolved through talks'', he added.

The new Railway division in Salem in Tamil Nadu was to be set up by bifurcating Palakkad railway division and when the moves were on for its inauguration, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav came up with a statement in the Parliament that Chief Ministers of both the states should discuss the matter.

This evoked instant protest and ''Salem Strong man'' and Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S Arumugam threatened to block trains to Kerala from August 25 if Kerala opposed it.

The Mullaiperiyar dam was a bone of contention between the two states with Tamil Nadu wanting to restore the storage level to 142 ft and Kerala opposing it.

UNI