Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, on Thursday, renewed his demand for the deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for the Mullaperiyar dam.
Substantiating his demand, Mr. Karunanidhi, in a statement, gave an exhaustive account of various instances wherein, he contended, officials of the Kerala government acted in an obstructive manner towards their Tamil Nadu counterparts in the last three years. It was for this reason that he, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January 2007, wanted the CISF to be posted at the dam site. In a supplementary affidavit filed then before the Supreme Court, the State highlighted the demand, the Chief Minister said.
He referred to the latest incident of the denial of permission by the Kerala irrigation authorities to the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation for taking pictures of different dams, including the Mullaperiyar in connection with an exhibition. On Monday, the State government wrote to the Kerala government that officials of the Forests department should be advised not to cause any hindrance to engineers of Tamil Nadu’s Water Resources Department during their work.
The Chief Minister also explained his correspondence with Kerala Chief Minister, V.S. Achuthanandan and Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, on the Mullaperiyar issue since September 2006, besides writing letters to Union Ministers for Water Resources and Defence.
