New Delhi, Dec 2 (ANI): Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Friday informed that Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has instructed him to hold a meeting with officials of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu and seek an early resolution of the controversy surrounding the Mullaperiyar Dam.
"The Prime Minister has intervened in this matter. He has directed me to see that there is a meeting of the officers from the two states (Kerala and Tamil Nadu) is held soon. So that, they are putting in a place, to discuss it among them and try their best to solve it with amicably among themselves, otherwise the matter is pending in the court," Bansal told mediapersons here after the meeting between the Prime Minister and Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
Oommen Chandy earlier today met Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi here to discuss the issue. During the meeting, he briefed the two leaders about the ongoing row surrounding the dam.
Meanwhile, former Minister of State for External Affairs and Congress MP from Kerala Shashi Tharoor said that he was in favour of an amicable solution over the issue.
"We are certainly in favour of an amicable solution, we have no quarrel whatsoever with the people of Tamil Nadu, we are not anxious to keep the water for ourselves, we want to give the water to Tamil Nadu. It's a question of agreeing on both sides, how to address the legitimate concern of both sides," he said.
Expressing concern over the lives and safety of the people, Tharoor said: "Obviously people are worried about their lives and their safety, there will be some concern there. But no one is interested in creating in panic. In fact, we are quite happy to dial down the temperature on this issue, because our interest is in a conciliatory and amicable solution, we don't see this as an inter-state dispute, and we don't see this as a water dispute. We are very much in favour of Tamil Nadu continuing to get all the water."
"All we want to ensure that we have a dam collapse that will unleash a sort of water bomb on the people of this area and all the way to the coast because it will be rather significant amount of water. So, we just want to ensure that the dam doesn't collapse so that's all we are working towards, we have no problem with them, and we don't think they would want people to die on our side of our border and we don't want people to have no water on there side of the water. We want everything to be done together," he added.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are locked in a dispute over the dam located in Idduki District. The dam and the river are located in Kerala, but the dam is controlled and operated by Tamil Nadu. The safety of the dam has been a matter of concern and a point of dispute between the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Lawmakers from Tamil Nadu had earlier on Thursday staged a demonstration outside the Parliament here in protest against the alleged spread of propaganda against the Mullaperiyar Dam by their counterparts from neighbouring Kerala state.
After mild tremors were felt in the region of Mullaperiyar Dam on November 26, several protest rallies urging to the government to act in reducing the height of the dam were staged.
On Wednesday, leaders of Kerala's ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and opposition CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) visited the dam, pledging support to ongoing protests in the area demanding construction of a new dam in place of the 116-year-old structure.
While Tamil Nadu wants to increase the water level in the reservoir, Kerala has been insisting that it be reduced from the current 136 feet to 120 feet.
Kerala is arguing for construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar in place of the existing one, which is being opposed by Tamil Nadu. (ANI)
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