Mullaperiyar dam issue generates heat in Lok Sabha

New Delhi, Nov 27: The Mullaperiyar dam issue again generated heat in the Lok Sabha today after a member from Kerala raised the issue of safety of the dam amid protests from the AIADMK members.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, N K Premchandran (RSP) said that concern was voiced at an all-party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram over the findings of the monitoring committee appointed by the Supreme Court on the issue of safety of the dam.

As soon as Premchandran raised the issue, AIADMK leader P Venugopal and his party colleagues were on their feet opposing the Kerala member. Premchandran, who was vociferously supported by members from Kerala including K C Venugopal and Mullappally Ramachandran (both Cong), insisted that his state was ready to share water with Tamil Nadu and was only concerned about the safety and security of the people in Kerala.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan sought to pacify the members and later asked a member from Uttar Pradesh to raise his matter. Reports had it that Kerala which has reservations about the findings of the Monitoring Committee appointed by the Supreme Court, has decided to ask for the creation of an international expert team to review the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam.

A bipartisan team led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and opposition leader V S Achuthanandan will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press the need for a new study.

PTI