Mullaperiyar: all set for thanks-giving

The venue near Pandikoil in Madurai is seen as auspicious as it has brought good tidings to AIADMK in the past

August 22, 2014 11:04 am | Updated April 21, 2016 04:47 am IST - MADURAI:

Finance Minister O. Pannerselvam and Minister for Cooperation Sellur K. Raju inspect the venue in Madurai on Thursday. Photo: S. James

Finance Minister O. Pannerselvam and Minister for Cooperation Sellur K. Raju inspect the venue in Madurai on Thursday. Photo: S. James

AIADMK workers and farmers of five southern districts have geared up for a rally scheduled for Friday to thank Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for her government’s efforts to convince the Supreme Court to allow Tamil Nadu to raise the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam to 142 feet.

“But for the Chief Minister’s efforts, Tamil Nadu would have failed to raise the level and could have lost the century-old dam to Kerala’s desperate efforts to replace it with a new one,” said Minister Sellur K. Raju. The ruling benefitted not only the farmers but also the entire population of the five districts, he said.

“First step”

The invitation printed by the Mullaiperiyar farmers said the function was to thank the Chief Minister for enabling the State to get justice through a “historic” ruling that allowed it to increase the water level to 142 feet as a “first step.”

They also thanked her for “executing” the court order by downing the 13 shutters at the dam site. Farmers’ representatives and Ministers will participate in the rally. Thousands of farmers from Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram and AIADMK workers will gather in the city.

The venue near Pandikoil is seen as ‘auspicious’ because it has brought good tidings to the party in the past. Ms. Jayalalithaa’s protest rally at the same venue in October 2010 attracted a huge crowd, which turned out to be the trend-setter for the Assembly elections held the next summer.

At the same venue, Ms. Jayalalithaa sought votes for her party candidate for the Lok Sabha elections in April this year. The party pulled off a thumping victory in Madurai, the first time it won the Lok Sabha seat since it was founded.

“It was at the same venue where our ‘Puratchi Thalavi’ said she would free Madurai from the clutches of the DMK and promised to increase the water level of the Periyar dam. She has now fulfilled both promises,” Mr. Raju said.

A huge water-proof pandaal has been put up to accommodate over 50,000 persons. A giant model with penstock pipes, representing the Periyar dam and the Vaigai dam, will be a big attraction.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.