Mullaperiyar dam: Water can go to Tamil Nadu but Kerala safety must be ensured, says UDF

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress-led UDF opposition on Tuesday said that since the Oommen Chandy government's time, their stand with regard to the over-125-year-old Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district has been that water can go to Tamil Nadu, but safety of Kerala must be ensured.

Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan said this is still the stand of the UDF.

Speaking to reporters here, he said that Tamil Nadu was of the view that the dam issue is being raised now to renegotiate the agreement between the two states as Kerala wants water. "What we have been saying always is water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala," he asserted.

Satheesan said that this issue would be discussed in the UDF meeting on August 19 and a decision would be taken based on the prevailing situation.

Last week, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that at the moment, there was no need for any concern regarding the safety of Mullaperiyar dam.

Vijayan had also said that the stand taken by the state government so far on the issue will continue.

He was responding to reporters' queries regarding Congress MP Dean Kuriakose reportedly raising safety concerns about the dam in the Lok Sabha.

In the Lok Sabha, Kuriakose had reportedly referred to the dam as a "water bomb" and demanded that it be decommissioned.

The Mullaperiyar dam was built in 1895.

While Tamil Nadu maintains that the dam is "absolutely safe", many in Kerala have been vociferous in its demand for a new dam to be built near the existing structure.