Mu Ka handles the Mullaiperiyar issue with political maturity
I must say that I think that Chief Minister Karunanidhi has handled the Mullaiperiyar issue with statesman like maturity and dignity in the face of immature provocations and behaviour by the Kerala Government. Lets hope the Centre and the Supreme Court take note, and that the issue is settled fairly for all concerned. It’s nice to see the way it was done without the usual posturing and the strong arm tactics we are familiar with because of the former government. While Mu Ka stated firmly that we would withdraw from the talks in the face of needless provocation, the fact that we were serious was driven home by the blockade at the state borders. This, I believe, was a legitimate form of protest, did not result in bus burning or violence of any sort, and made the point pretty clear. Kudos to him, and I hope the issue is settled soon.
Addendum: There’s an editorial in today’s Hindu which says both Chief Ministers have to sit down and discuss this sensibly. It does say the Kerala Chief Minister’s concern was on the safety of the dam, therefore the sending in of the navy divers etc. That, to my mind, is a legitimate concern. What I found offensive is the strong arm tactics with which they were sent in to estimate the dam’s safety, which was provocative.
So who suffers because some divers examine a dam? It is hardly provocative.
I don’t know anything about the geography (must check it out) but I understand that, if that dam goes, it isn’t TN that gets flooded.
If I were on the Kerala side, I would want my state government to err on the safe side and take every possible precaution.
There is also the conservation aspect of this. Raising the water level of that reservoir has major implications for an important national park.
Thad. No one is objecting to divers examining the dam for safety. But if they come in with a Kerala IG of Police, (the dam is in TN), hold everybody at bay and do their stuff, what does it imply? All they had to do, as the matter is with the Supreme Court anyway, is inform the TN government that they would like to evaluate the safety of the dam, and a date and time. Of coursen no one would have objected. As it is, it was conducted like some sort of operation without informing the TN government or those in charge of the dam.
Just thought I d observe about China, which built the largest dam in the world, with the capacity of 7 nuclear reactors, with impunity, while in India, the struggle to raise the bund by 6 feet, continues even AFTER the Supreme court ruling, that itself took two decades to reach.
Theres certainly something wrong somewhere.
The tamil nadu govt is not justified in asking Kerala to put pressure on a 120 yr old dam and endanger the lives of lakhs of people living there.This will bring a bad name to tamilians. Already tamilians are hated in karnataka after we asked for separating bangalore from karnataka. The recent road blockade at kerala border resulted in losses of crores of business for tamil people because Kerala immediately bought all essential items from Karnataka & AP.Therefore its in the best interest of TN not to politicise the issue as was done in the Kaveri matter and resolve the mullaiperiyar issue amicably.
The dam is in Kerala, not in Tamil Nadu. The area and the dam has been leased to TN. So I am not sure if the Kerala CM is wrong in checking the dam.
However, I think the Central Water Commission has clearly said that if the strengthening activities have been completed (as TN says it did), the reservoir level can be increased even upto 152 feet. So, the way to go would be approach some third party who can really confirm that the dam can safely store 140+ft.
The dam is an ancient structure built of lime and mortar using engineering techniques prevalent during that time.No amount of strengthening the structure will suffice. A feasible plan would be to build a new dam as a joint effort by both states.Mr.Appaswamy says that the blockade was a legitimate form of protest, did not result in bus burning or violence of any sort,the truth is that 40 buses of KSRTC were damaged in stone throwing and Kerala was forced to suspend services to TN.Services resumed only after intervention by Manmohan Singh & Prakash Karat. However, thousands of Tamil pilgrims to Sabarimala are assured safe passage & treated courteously by our neighbours. Who is more civilized? Think about it.
I thought the damn was in indeed in Kerala — really must check out the geography.
Nobody has said anything about the environmental aspects.
You can’t just raise water level in a huge lake in an important national park by 6 feet…
I read somewhere that the Nilgiris forests have, despite being protected by law, been reduced by 90% since the law was passed. Encroachment by tea planters.
What’s the point of having a national park? Just to flood vast areas of it?
“Legitimate form of protest” – My foot!!! My brother was stranded at the Kerala-TN border for close to 16 hrs. I had been to the place with my sister-in-law,one week earlier, who is pregnant and if this would have happened to us at that time, it would have been real bad. And you call that a legitimate form of protest!!! When the problem between two states spills into the open and they resort to such “legitimate” forms of protest, it’s such an immature behaviour. How different is it from two school kids’ behaviour?
The dam is in Kerala and not TN and there’s no mention of the difficulty in raising the height of the dam which is so old. Please check your facts while writing all this.
A protest is never ‘legitimate’ to the people who are inconvenienced by it!
Sure, I’d probably have felt the same….