First Published Dec 8, 2021, 11:34 AM IST
കേThe nine shutters of the Mullaperiyar Dam in Tamil Nadu were reopened this morning without any hesitation. The nine shutters were raised by 60 cm each. With this 7140 cubic feet of water is flowing into Idukki Dam. The water level in Mullaperiyar is now 141.90 feet. Tamil Nadu’s only objective is to keep the water level below 142 feet as per the Supreme Court order. The Mullaperiyar Dam in Tamil Nadu has been open for the past one week without any warning at midnight or early morning. For a week now, Tamil Nadu has been leaving the dam shutters open at midnight and early in the morning without warning. Instead of taking a pragmatic stand against this, the locals complain that Kerala is only criticizing Tamil Nadu through the media. Locals complain that the ministers are only criticizing Tamil Nadu’s action in the media and are not taking the necessary steps for the people. Images and description by Asianet News Reporter KV Santhosh Kumar.
People in the low lying areas between Vallakkadavu and Ayyappan Kovil, about 30 km between Mullaperiyar Dam and Idukki Dam, are eating at night with great anxiety. Instead of taking positive action against Tamil Nadu, the people of the region are worried about the indifference shown by the people’s representatives of Kerala.
Though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Water Resources Minister Roshi Augustine have asked Tamil Nadu not to open the dam without warning, the Kerala government says it is rejecting Kerala’s proposals. The lack of coordination at the bureaucratic level between Tamil Nadu and Kerala has disturbed the peace of the people in the 30 km area.
As more shutters were raised on the Mullaperiyar Dam this morning, many houses along the Periyar were flooded. About five houses in the Kadassikkad atoram area were flooded this morning. Roads in Vikas Nagar area were also flooded. For the past one week, the Mullaperiyar has been opening without warning at midnight, flooding houses during the night.
Nine shutters were opened by Tamil Nadu without warning this morning. Of these, three shutters closed at nine o’clock in the morning. Currently six shutters are open. As Kerala prepares to approach the Supreme Court today against the opening of the Tamil Nadu Dam without warning at night, Tamil Nadu opened nine shutters in the morning in defiance of the state’s directives.
Revenue Minister K Rajan has come out with harsh criticism of Tamil Nadu’s actions. The minister said that Tamil Nadu had violated the common decency and the government would take a tough stand now. “It was thought that Tamil Nadu would show the usual courtesy that a state should show to the people. That did not happen. He contacted the Government of Kerala and Tamil Nadu several times to inform them of the plight of the people. But the Tamil Nadu situation is repeating itself. The state government has decided to take strong action now, ”said Minister K Rajan.
Kerala will approach the Supreme Court today against the release of water from the Mullaperiyar Dam at night without warning. Minister Roshi Augustine said a fresh petition would be filed on Wednesday (8.12.’21) seeking the immediate intervention of the Supreme Court.
Periyar coastal residents are worried as Tamil Nadu has started releasing water from Mullaperiyar continuously at night. Dams are often opened without even warning. Many houses along the Periyar have been flooded for the past one week.
With this, the people came out in protest. Criticism is strong among the people that Kerala is not taking action against Tamil Nadu’s approach of releasing water without warning. The government decided to approach the court after people started blocking ministers on the streets in protest.
Tamil Nadu has been opening the Mullaperiyar Dam without warning for the past one week after midnight. It will be a week before Kerala decides to approach the Supreme Court against the Tamil Nadu move which is causing great concern to the people. Locals have been complaining that the government has not taken into account the plight of the people in the area for so long.
Mullaperiyar Dam opens without warning Joe Joseph has also been sworn in. Joe Joseph gave the additional affidavit in order to bring the concerns of the people before the Supreme Court.
The source of the affidavit said that the Tamil Nadu government’s release of water without even warning at night is causing panic among the people and action should be taken against the Tamil Nadu officials. It has demanded the direct involvement of the oversight committee in matters related to the dam and that the oversight committee should proceed independently.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan came out with a scathing critique of the government and the Chief Minister over the Mullaperiyar issue. VD Satheesan alleged that the Chief Minister and the government were behaving as if they were afraid of someone in the Mullaperiyar issue.
The water from the Mullaperiyar had been flowing at night for a week, contrary to the recommendations of the oversight committee. The people on the banks of the Periyar are in a pitiable condition. VD Satheesan criticized the Chief Minister for not even responding to the situation.
With the release of water from Mullaperiyar to Tamil Nadu, the population of Idukki Dam rose. With this, Kerala opened the Cheruthoni dam yesterday morning and released excess water. As part of this, an orange alert was declared in Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts yesterday.
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