DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Thursday urged the State government to constitute a committee to assess the condition of the dams in Tamil Nadu and suggest ways to ensure their safety.
He said the panel should include the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) and other experts to assess the dams not only in the delta region, but all over the State.
Mr. Stalin said nine shutters of the Mukkombu dam had been damaged in the flood, leading to disruption of traffic in the Tiruchi-Karur stretch. “People are not able to use the Musiri-Namakkal road because of the situation,” he said.
Mr. Stalin alleged that after the Coleroon bridge, the Mukkombu bridge had been damaged because of the AIADMK government’s indifferent attitude towards the maintenance of the dams.
‘Stop sand mining’
“Though the government claims that it has allotted funds for the maintenance of dams, it has failed to assess their condition. The government should own responsibility for the problems,” he said.
The State unit of the Congress has also urged the government to constitute a panel comprising experts and engineers to look into the issue of safety of dams across Tamil Nadu, in the wake of the incident.
In a statement, TNCC president Su Thirunavukkarasar alleged that illegal sand mining was a key reason for the overall lack of safety of dams and it should be stopped.
PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss rejected the State government’s reasoning that the shutters were washed away due to the discharge of 2 lakh cusecs of water.
“These structures have withstood several floods over many years. Is there any evidence that the structures were damaged due to the flood,” he asked.
He called for a ban on illegal sand mining. mining to protect the dams, the check dams and the bridges.
“The PWD should take up the job of surveying these structures and prepare a report about how sturdy they are,” the PMK youth wing leader added.
