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Kerala has no hidden agenda: Chandy
As part of the public relations efforts over the inter-State dispute regarding the Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday held a closed-door meeting with about 20 mediamen from Tamil Nadu at Thiruvananthapuram to convince them of the State’s position.
After the 90-minute meeting, Additional Chief Secretary K Jayakumar said that the Chief Minister had convinced them that Kerala had no hidden agenda in its call for a new dam in Mullaperiyar to replace the 116-yar-old structure. Chandy told them that the idea of a new dam had not surfaced only recently, the official said.
According to Jayakumar, Chandy had told them that the idea of a new dam was mooted as back as in 1973 and that a site for the construction had also been decided. A report said Chandy had “politely” asked newsmen from Kerala who entered his briefing chamber along with the invited group of Tamil Nadu mediapersons to leave it before he began to talk.
The CM told the newsmen that the pilgrims from Tamil Nadu to the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala had not so far faced any Mullaperiyar-related hardships. If any stray incident had occurred anywhere, the Government had reacted strictly, he told them, adding that Kerala was proud that it could treat the pilgrims like a good host.
Stating that rumours were doing rounds with regard to Mullaperiyar, Chandy told the Tamil newsmen that the State’s position on the issue was “safety for Kerala, water for Tamil Nadu”. He said there would not be even a single day on which Tamil Nadu would not get water from Mullaperiyar even after the construction of a new dam.
As part of the public relations efforts over the inter-State dispute regarding the Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday held a closed-door meeting with about 20 mediamen from Tamil Nadu at Thiruvananthapuram to convince them of the State’s position.
After the 90-minute meeting, Additional Chief Secretary K Jayakumar said that the Chief Minister had convinced them that Kerala had no hidden agenda in its call for a new dam in Mullaperiyar to replace the 116-yar-old structure. Chandy told them that the idea of a new dam had not surfaced only recently, the official said.
According to Jayakumar, Chandy had told them that the idea of a new dam was mooted as back as in 1973 and that a site for the construction had also been decided. A report said Chandy had “politely” asked newsmen from Kerala who entered his briefing chamber along with the invited group of Tamil Nadu mediapersons to leave it before he began to talk.
The CM told the newsmen that the pilgrims from Tamil Nadu to the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala had not so far faced any Mullaperiyar-related hardships. If any stray incident had occurred anywhere, the Government had reacted strictly, he told them, adding that Kerala was proud that it could treat the pilgrims like a good host.
Stating that rumours were doing rounds with regard to Mullaperiyar, Chandy told the Tamil newsmen that the State’s position on the issue was “safety for Kerala, water for Tamil Nadu”. He said there would not be even a single day on which Tamil Nadu would not get water from Mullaperiyar even after the construction of a new dam.
