With the rift between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar dam growing, MDMK leader Vaiko on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to deploy central forces for protecting the dam.
After meeting the prime minister in the capital, Vaiko, who is from Tamil Nadu, said the dam in Kerala was facing a threat from people.
“I told him (prime minister) that if (there is) a danger to the dam any time, (it is) not by natural calamity, (but) by the Kerala people, instigated mob,” Vaiko told reporters.
“The Kerala state police could not control them because the Kerala government has itself stated we will destroy the dam, (and) we would remove the rubble. Therefore the central government must immediately deploy forces,” he said.
Concerns have been raised about the safety of the dam, which is in Idukki district of Kerala, after mild tremors shook the area. The dam is filled to its maximum permissible level of 136 feet.
Tamil Nadu wants the dam's storage capacity to be increased by raising the dam height - from 136 feet (41.5 m) to 142 feet (43 m) to meet the growing irrigation needs of the state.
{{/usCountry}}Tamil Nadu wants the dam's storage capacity to be increased by raising the dam height - from 136 feet (41.5 m) to 142 feet (43 m) to meet the growing irrigation needs of the state.
{{/usCountry}}Kerala, on the other hand, wants a new dam as it fears that a strong earthquake might damage the existing dam.