Mullaperiyar dam politics: Kerala ministers restore to fast

New Delhi, Dec 5: Kerala-Tamil Nadu standoff takes a tenfold increase over the Mullaperiyar dam row. With reports emerging that few political parties in Kerala resorted to violence demanding decommission of alleged obsolete dam, two ministers from the former state are sitting on a day-long fast, to mount pressure on Centre to find a quick fix.

State Water Resources Minister TJ Joseph will kick-start his hunger strike in Delhi while state Finance Minister KM Mani follow the same in Idukki, the district in which the Mullaperiyar dam is located. Kerala's Cabinet will be meeting to talk on the prevailing situation.

Meanwhile, MDMK leader Vaiko will meet PM Manmohan Singh to convey Tamil Nadu's stand on the issue. The Attorney General is also expected to explain his comments on the dam before a Supreme Court-empowered committee.

Kerala is demanding a new dam to replace the 116-year-old alleged outlived dam, as it is situated in an earthquake prone area. And a tremor of 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale could collapse the dam creating a big disaster around the five districts downstream.

Ruling out the concerns of Kerala, TN is demanding the raising of the water level from 136 ft to 142 ft as it pleads shortage of water. On the other hand, Kerala has pleaded for the reduction of water level from 136 ft to 120 ft to bring down the risk. However, both states show no sign of settlement over negotiations rather taking the fight to new heights day by day.

With both states demanding the Centre's intervention on the issue, all attention is on the government to see the strategy it draws to contain the ongoing dam protest.

OneIndia News