Mullaperiyar Special Cell chairman M.K.Parameswaran Nair has said that Tamil Nadu was trying to strengthen the Mullaperiyar dam on the pretext of filling the boreholes drilled for analysing the samples of the materials used for the construction of the dam as per the direction of the Supreme Court-appointed Empower Committee.
He told media persons at Thekkady after visiting the dam that only 150 sacks of cement was needed to fill the boreholes while the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department (PWD) officials have stored nearly thousand sacks of cements.
This was illegal as the issue was under the consideration of the Supreme Court, Mr Parameswaran Nair said and added that he did not understand the logic behind stocking more quantity of cement than actually needed for filling the boreholes.
The team led by Mr Parameswaran Nair visited the dam and held discussions with the PWD officials. Media persons were barred from entering the dam site.
Had the SC favoured the construction of a new dam that would not only have caused more encroachment but also given an opportunity for vested interests to siphon away hudreds of crores of project funds.
If the dam is safe, why strengthen it with 1000 sacks of cement? Will TN keep strengthening it for 999 years. I only blame Kerala politicians, especially the ones of the past for putting the people of Idukki, Kottayam and Ernakulam district in such a predicament by passing closed door deals with TN govt in the past.
It is very obvious that the people of Kerala has and will always get the shorter end of the stick becuase big brother TN has greater influence in the center, no matter whether DMK or AIDMK is in power.
It is strange that Kerala has been all these while telling that the dam is not safe and a danger to many living downstream. Now the same Kerala is accusing Tamil Nadu of trying to strengthen the same dam. Even if the works of filling and any additional repairs will strengthen the dam will it not be beneficial to the people who could be affected in case of the utterly imaginary danger? This statement itself shows that Kerala's concern over the safety of the dam is just a cover for some other ulterior motive. And that motive is safeguarding the encroached land around the water lake, encroached by the influential people which will be submerged if water is raised. If a new dam is constructed more land will be available for further encroachment also.
'Media persons were barred from entering the dam site' Why does Kerala ban the media from entering the Dam site? Is it jittery that, its lies will be exposed?
My first question is,'Are we a civilized country?'. When the special committee constituted by the SC has come out and clearly indicated that the Dam is quite safe, where is the question of TN using more cement to improve the stability of the dam. It is a known fact that Kerala Govt' is after safeguarding the interests of a few property developers and property owners whose areas are likely to be submerged under water when the dam storage level is increased as per SC's approval to 152'. Cases of Contempt of Court should be initiated against all those who try to utter a word against the SC judgement.
If the bore hole capacity is 150 sacks then how can TN fill it with 1000 sacks. Kerala politicians can better think of their people instead of constantly raising such petty issues.
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