Kerala Opposition Leader says ‘water for Tamil Nadu and security for Kerala’ policy should guide construction of new dam at Mullaperiyar

Kerala's Leader of the Opposition emphasizes safety concerns and water sharing issues in Mullaperiyar dam construction.

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said a policy of “water for Tamil Nadu and security for Kerala” should guide the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar. 

Mr. Satheesan’s comment on Tuesday (August 13, 2024) comes against the backdrop of mounting public concern in Kerala about the safety of the 129-year-old masonry gravity dam.

The catastrophic landslides that wiped out three settlements in Vythiri taluk in Wayanad district on July 30 have exacerbated people’s anxiety about Mullaperiyar’s structural integrity and capacity to weather a sudden surge of water inflow caused by a cloudburst or heavy rains in the catchment area. Moreover, social media is replete with alarmist posts and Mullaperiyar-related scaremongering.

Mr. Satheesan said Tamil Nadu feared Kerala had proposed a new dam to reduce its share of water from Mullaperiyar.

He said the Kerala government should assuage Tamil Nadu’s fears about reducing its water share and work for a consensus among the neighbouring States. 

Mr. Satheesan said the Mullaperiyar issue would figure prominently at the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership meeting and camp on August 19. 

His reaction comes barely a day after Kerala Irrigation Minister Roshy Augustine attempted to soothe mounting public concern in Kerala that Mullaperiyar was structurally unsafe and an extreme rain event could rupture the barrage and imperil the lives and property of citizens in six downstream districts.