The attitude of the Kerala government on the Mullaperiyar dam issue is an impending danger to Tamil Nadu and the cordial relationship between the people of the two States, general secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) Vaiko said here on Tuesday.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Vaiko said the Supreme Court ruling was in favour of Tamil Nadu, whereas Kerala was going ahead with its plans to construct a new dam at a cost of Rs.380 crore.
The proposed site was on lower terrain. No one would be able to provide water to Tamil Nadu from the new structure. This would result in 2.17 lakh acres of irrigation lands in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu and two crore people going without water.
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Flaying the DMK government for failing to take the right approach, Mr. Vaiko said Kerala was going ahead with its plan at a time when the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had appointed a committee to inspect and hear both the governments.
Mr. Vaiko wanted to know whether the consent given by the Tamil Nadu counsel, when Kerala sought transfer of the case to a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, was on his own or at the instructions of the Chief Minister.
The Supreme Court had given its ruling in favour of Tamil Nadu on the basis of the expert committee report on the strength of the existing structure and now the apex court had taken away the rights of Tamil Nadu by constituting another committee.
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Stressing that Kerala was dependent on Tamil Nadu for commodities such as rice, milk, meat, poultry products, vegetables and fruits, Mr. Vaiko listed the number of trucks transporting them to Kerala, “which is bestowed with natural resources and not adequate cultivable land.”
Detailing the quantum of water required for cultivating the food items that Kerala required from Tamil Nadu, Mr. Vaiko said that 2,000 tmcft of water was being let into the Arabian Sea by the neighbouring State.
“If Tamil Nadu has to go without water, naturally Kerala will have to go without food. The day the Mullaperiyar dam is demolished, national integration will be in question and any emotional outburst will have serious chain reactions on both sides.”
On the proposed visit of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to Colombo for overseeing the process of resettlement of the displaced Tamil population, Mr. Vaiko said it was only a cover-up operation. On the charges by Kumaran Pathamanathan, known as KP, that Vaiko and Pazha Nedumaran sabotaged a ceasefire plan, Mr. Vaiko said that KP, a guest of Sri Lanka, was a tool used by the island nation and India to tarnish his image.