Reiterating that the Mullaperiyar dam issue should not be treated as the problem of a few districts such as Theni, Dindigul and Madurai, film director Bharathiraja on Friday said that writers and film personalities would assemble on the Marina to express solidarity with the campaign for protecting the structure.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Bharathiraja, a native of Theni district, explained how the dam had benefited the district and farmers were able to turn dry land into fertile fields.
“This will all go and the areas will become a desert,” he said, recalling how many families, including his, would migrate to other parts of the State in search of work before the “52 canal” of the dam started irrigating the district.
Accusing political parties of enacting drama for political gains, he said that the film world that raised its voice against Karnataka over Cauvery water dispute and other issues were maintaining silence on the Mullaperiyar issue. Asked whether he would make a film along with lyricist Vairamuthu and Ilayaraja, all of whom hailed from Theni district, to counter Sohan Roy's ‘Dam-999', he said it would take more than a year to make a film and before that the dam would be demolished.
Mr. Bharathiraja also said that the Tamil Film Directors Association would organise a protest at Cumbum soon.
Cinematographer Thankarbachan said that it was unfortunate that politicians in Tamil Nadu were not able to come together to fight the injustice caused to the State on the dam issue while Kerala politicians were fighting the cause of their State unitedly.
