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Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has convened an all-party meeting next week as the water-level in the disputed Mullaperiyar dam touches an alarming 142ft. |
Tamil Nadu, which controls the British-built dam in Kerala’s border district of Idukki, last week rejected the state’s appeal for drawing more water to limit its level at a “safer” 136ft.
The level touched 41.6ft yesterday morning. Kerala says the rising level puts the lives of 3mn people in four downstream districts at risk if the 118-year-old dam breaks as it has no capacity to hold more water, an argument the Supreme Court rejected in May.
Last week, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam rejected Chandy’s request to reduce the height saying he would go by the court verdict to protect the interests of tens of thousands of farmers in his state.
Kerala has set up nearly 100 camps asking people from the banks of River Periyar to move in, but the response was lukewarm.
Besides a detailed discussion in his cabinet, Chandy also held a meeting of MPs from the state and urged them to raise it during the winter session of parliament beginning next week.
“Kerala’s stand has always been the same, water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala,” Chandy told the MPs.
K C Joseph, Kerala’s information and parliamentary affairs minister, said the government would draw the attention of the parliament to the fears of the people, the unsafe condition of the dam and threat to the ecology of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
The government had asked the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) to submit a report on the impact of rising water level in the dam on the forestland within two days.
Meanwhile, the Idukki district administration has taken precautionary measures to face any emergency situation as the water level touched a record height in 22 years.
