Ramadoss slams 'dangerous' rumours linking Mullaperiyar dam safety to Wayanad landslides

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu should safeguard its rights when it comes to the over century-old Mullaperiyar dam and urge for the dam's capacity to be increased to 152 from 142 feet, said PMK founder S Ramadoss, as reported by Daily Thanthi. The safety of the dam, located in the high-range district of Idukki, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the Wayanad landslides, aggravated by scare-mongering social media posts.

In a statement on Tuesday, he said that at a time when everyone in Tamil Nadu was praying for the people of landslide-affected Wayanad in Kerala, spreading lies and rumours about the tragedy by linking it to the Mullaperiyar issue and indulging in smear campaigning was not fair on Kerala's part. "While it is important for us to lend a helping hand to rebuild Kerala, Tamil Nadu should not cede its rights in the Mullaperiyar dam issue," he said.

So far, at least 300 people have lost their lives in the landslides that flattened Attamala, Mundakkai, and Chooralmala areas of Wayanad district in Kerala on July 30 and Tamil Nadu was one of the first states to offer aid and assistance in the wake of the disaster, noted Ramadoss, adding that it was dangerous to see seeds of hatred being planted against the people of Tamil Nadu in Kerala. "Conveniently using the landslide tragedy as an excuse, several political parties and influential people in Kerala are trying to ensure that the Mullaperiyaar project gets shelved," he said.

Ramadoss further pointed out several instances which strengthened his suspicion that plans were afoot to pull the curtains on the Mullaperiyaar project. He said that the Congress and Communist parties in Kerala have been claiming that the Mullaperiyaar dam should be closed in order to prevent any potential catastrophe. "The two parties staged protests in the Parliament recently and also spoke to central minister C R Patil about the issue," he observed.

The PMK chief also noted that popular advocate Mathews J Nedumpara recently filed a case in the Supreme Court requesting the capacity of the Mullaperiyaar dam to be decreased from 142 ft to 120 ft, to obviate the possibility of the dam breaching.

He further added that the validity of the 1886 lease deed between the state of Travancore and the then British-ruled Madras presidency over the construction of the Mullaperiyar dam would be reexamined most likely on September 30.

"Despite experts allaying all doubts, several Kerala-based organisations are spreading fear that the Mullaperiyar dam will break soon and wipe out five districts in Kerala. This is dangerous behaviour," he said.

Ensuring that the dam's capacity is increased to 152 ft is our right and we should never compromise on it, Ramadoss emphasised. "The DMK government should step up its efforts to safeguard our rights in this issue and intensify endeavours to get a favourable outcome in court and make sure the capacity of the dam is increased to 152 ft," he said.

The Mullaperiyar dam, a masonry gravity structure, was built in 1895 on the Periyar river in Idukki.

While Tamil Nadu has been maintaining that the dam is "absolutely safe", its neighbouring state Kerala has been vociferous in its demand for a new dam to be built near the existing structure.

Meanwhile, Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan on Tuesday stated that a policy of “water for Tamil Nadu and security for Kerala” should guide the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar while state minister Augustine Roshy has warned of regulation against vloggers spreading fear and fake news over the issue.