Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The case of the Mullaperiyar dam.

In my view, fully knowledgeable of the fact that I'd be termed a 'turncoat' speaking against the interest(?) of my state, the case of the Mullaperiyar dam has been unnecessarily dramatised by certain political parties towards their game of vote bank politics. I'm of the firm opinion that the river waters within our country must be shared by the riparian states through a policy of equanimity coupled with accommodation.

The 'fight' between Tamilnadu and Kerala, over the waters that's stemmed by the dam, reminds me of the dynamics at play on the Indo-Pakistan borders! Please do not forget the fact that both the states are very much part of this country!!

The Background.

The dam built across the River Periyar is 120 years old. On its commissioning, its creator, Colonel John Pennycuick had given a guarantee for its life as 30 years. But the dam had begun to leak right from the beginning and was damaged in the floods of 1924, which was the first major setback followed by the damage to its 'head sluices' in 1925. The damages were repaired by the then Madras government! (Kerala and Tamilnadu had come into existence in 1956 during the reorganisation of states on linguistic basis).

The controversy over the dam started with an article in the Times of India of 11 May 1962. This was invoked by a gentleman named PS Nair(who was working in the PMG's office in Ahmedabad) in his complaint to the then Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. Pattom Thanu Pillai. The government secretary, in turn, had taken up the matter with Tamilnadu laying the foundation for the interstate dispute.

The Expert Committee's Findings.

The dam is safe from the hydrological and structural viewpoints. That it is situated in a likely seismic zone does not alter the fact that ample reserves exist in the strength and other properties of the dam material against likely stresses.

The Supreme Court's Ruling.

The Supreme Court today has ruled that the full reservoir level be retained at 142 ft as against Kerala's plea of maintaining it at 136 ft citing safety reasons from the facts mentioned above.

The Aftermath.

Sadly, vested interests have already termed the Supreme Court's ruling as a victory(?) for Tamilnadu and injustice to Kerala. 

My take.

It's high time that all the political parties accepted the verdict of the Supreme Court in the right spirit. In the meantime, the governments of Tamilnadu and Kerala should sit across the negotiating table to work out the modalities of building a new dam, in a time bound manner.


Tailpiece.

A statewide 'hartal' has been called in Kerala, tomorrow, to protest against the injustice(?) meted out to the people of Kerala. The flip side of the clarion call is that it does not have the support of the entire spectrum of the political parties of the state! 

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