Karuna calls for follow up action on Mullaperiyar dam issue

DMK president M Karunanidhi today said follow up action should be taken on the Mullaperiyar dam issue, as he reposed faith in a 2006 Supreme Court order which stated the dam was safe and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's remark favouring resolution of the matter through talks.
In a statement here, Karunanidhi noted that while Vijayan soon after assuming office said his government would sort out all issues with Tamil Nadu through negotiations, the policy address delivered by the Governor yesterday said the LDF government was firm on building a new reservoir.
Vijayan while seeking a study by international experts on the strength of the dam, had said, "Kerala unilaterally cannot decide on the issue as it needed concurrence of the Centre as well as of the Tamil Nadu government."

On forming the experts panel to assess the dam's strength, Karunanidhi recalled that a similar proposal in 1979 for construction of a new dam was dropped by Kerala government as it was not feasible.
"Our appeal is that the Kerala government should realise that raising the issue again would further prolong the problem and will not able to solve it," he said.
He flayed Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for not taking any steps after Vijayan's remarks over the issue but the opposition parties in Kerala had opposed his views.
He urged the Tamil Nadu, Kerala and central governments to take follow up action and reposed "full faith" in the supreme court's order and Vijayan's earlier remarks.