Kerala MPs meet PM on Mullaperiyar dam issue

An all party delegation from Kerala on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought his intervention to resolve the issue of Mullaperiyar dam between the state and Tamil Nadu.

Senior Congress Member of Parliament P C Chacko said the prime minister advised the two sides not to take up any campaign to create differences and tension between the two states.

"The prime minister advised us that such a campaign should not be taken up because there are a large number of Malayalees in Tamil Nadu and Tamils in Kerala. Two neighbouring states, they should not create a situation where differences are being generated," Chacko said.

He said the Kerala MPs informed the prime minister that the people of the state were concerned about the safety of the 116-year-old dam and asked him to convene a meeting of chief ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu as early as possible to discuss the issue.

The delegation, in a memorandum, also requested the prime minister to impress upon Tamil Nadu the need to accept Kerala's proposal for constructing a new dam down stream of the present Mullaperiyar Dam and "to offer cooperation in a venture for ensuring continued supply of water to Tamil Nadu and for safeguarding the life and property of Kerala".

"We don't want water and we fully share these sentiments with Tamil Nadu that water should be made available to them," Chacko said.

"Then the prime minister said he will take the initiative," he said.

He said the Kerala MPs also informed the PM that the people of the state have nothing to do with the "campaign", including a film allegedly based on Mullaperiyar that has been banned in Tamil Nadu.