Terming the Kerala government's apprehension over safety of the Mullaperiyar dam as "unnecessary", Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday claimed it was borne out of "bypoll fear".
Tension prevailed on Monday on Tamil Nadu's borders with Kerala over the Mullaperiyar dam issue, with the police baton charging over 4,000 people who tried to forcibly enter Kerala even as key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam attacked the Centre, asking it to "at least now" take a timely decision to resolve the escalating row between the two states.
Asserting that the safety of its people is of utmost importance, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said the state does not have any "secret agenda" to pursue in the Mullaperiyar dam issue.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday took strong exception to the National Disaster Management Authority forming a team of experts to draw up a contingency response plan for the Mullaperiyar Dam, saying it was nothing but "succumbing to the subterfuge" of Kerala.
Assuring that the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam was safe, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday appealed to the people of Kerala not to succumb "to the mechanisations of ill-wishers and unscrupulous mischief mongers".
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M Karunanidhi will hold talks against the backdrop of the recent spat between them following rising of the water level above the danger mark.
Ernakulam district authorities on Tuesday said 350 cumecs of the water from Idamalayar, which reached Periyar river but there was no considerable rise in the water-level.
The Kerala government on Thursday affirmed its commitment to build a new dam at Mullaperiyar in place of the 116-year old structure, saying its resolve to do so is based on the principle of 'water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala'. Governor H R Bhardwaj, in his address to the legislative assembly to mark the start of the budget session, made the comments.
Former Kerala chief minister and Communist Party of India-Marxist veteran V S Achutanandan on Tuesday filed a petition in the Kerala high court seeking a direction to build a new dam at Mullaperiyar.
The talks are scheduled to be in New Delhi on November 29.
Stepping up the campaign for a new dam at Mullaperiyar, State Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) chief K M Mani is observing a day-long fast at Chappath in Mullaperiyar on Monday while his colleague and Water Resources Minister P J Joseph is fasting in New Delhi.
Jawan of Vellimala has echoes of the Mullaperiyar dam controversy; here, unfortunately, the conspiracy theory feels a bit too stretched, says Paresh C Palicha.
"We know very well the importance of water from Mullaperiyar to Tamil Nadu. The five districts of Tamil Nadu are completely depending on water from Mullaperiyar. We are always for distribution of water without any objection," Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told media persons in Chennai.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday told DMK supremo M Karunanidhi that Tamilians living in Kerala are "totally safe" and that the apprehensions voiced by him in this regard in the wake of tension between the two states over the Mullaperiyar dam issue were "unfounded".
Tension gripped Lower Camp area on Tamil Nadu's border with Kerala on Saturday as over 4,000 villagers of the district took out a march protesting against alleged attacks on Tamils in Kumily in the neighbouring state in the wake of the escalation of the row over Mullaperiyar dam.
Tamil Nadu on Monday suffered a setback with a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court refusing to concede the state's plea for scrapping the high- high-level empowered committee set up to examine the legal and safety aspects of the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala.
Two decisions handed down by the Supreme Court have spread gloom in Kerala as they have shaken two basic faiths of a majority of the people in the state, says T P Sreenivasan.
He appealed to Kerala to extend cooperation to store full water in the Mullaiperiyar dam.
Normal life was on Monday hit due to a dawn-to-dusk hartal called at Idukki in Kearal by the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front and Opposition Left Democratic Front protesting Tamil Nadu's stand over Mullaperiyar issue and Centre's "reluctance" to mediate on it.
The heavy rains led to water level in various dams in the state rising to the red alert mark, prompting the government to open one of the shutters of Cheruthoni dam of Idukki reservoir in the afternoon.
A red alert was declared in 8 districts of Kerala on Thursday by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as rains continued to lash various parts of the state and disrupted the day-to-day lives of the people as roads got flooded or caved in and many got displaced from their homes to relief camps.
Given the intensity of the rain, at least a third of this crisis could have been averted, had Tamil Nadu heeded Kerala's requests.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said he has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the state.
The decision to suspend the operations was taken after shutters of the Idamalayar and Cheruthoni dams, part of Idukki reservoir, were opened on Tuesday evening to release excess water.
Locked in a bitter row with Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiar Dam issue, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday maintained that the safety of the century-old dam was a "concern" for his state and that a new structure was a solution "where both sides win."
The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court accusing Kerala government of whipping up "fear psychosis" on Mullaperiyar row and sought the court's direction, restraining the state from making any controversial statement on the issue.
An all-party meeting to discuss the Mullaperiyar Dam row is underway in Thiruvananthapuram even as the situation is normal on Tuesday in Kumali town on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, where prohibitory orders are in force after incidents of stoning of vehicles.
The decision to approach the apex court was taken in the wake of Tamil Nadu government filing an application along with an affidavit seeking deployment of CISF and blaming Kerala for its decision to pull out of the talks.
Kerala on Tuesday said it is ready for joint control with Tamil Nadu and the Centre, if a new dam is built in place of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar reservoir, over which the two states are locked in a dispute.
Interlinking of rivers, retrieval of Katchatheevu island and inclusion of fishermen in the Scheduled Tribes list are also listed in the memorandum.
106 people died on a single day on Thursday.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by Vaiko on Monday decided to quit the National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre was acting against Tamils and betrayed the people of the state.
One man was killed and two others injured in Thrissur district on Tuesday after an uprooted tree fell on them in heavy rains and strong winds.
The Southern Naval command on Wednesday called off its 14-day long rescue operations in flood-hit Kerala, saying there were no more requests for evacuation as waters receding in affected areas.
N Sathiya Moorthy explains how the recent floods may complicate the Cauvery issue among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala
Chaired by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha and attended by chiefs of the three services, secretaries of home, defence and others, the National Crisis Management Committee took stock of the prevailing situation in Kerala and directed all concerned to ensure continued assistance to the state government to meet the crisis, a home ministry spokesperson said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and did not rule out the support of her party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to his government in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling National Democratic Alliance is in a minority.
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has warned about the possibilities of landslides in the hilly areas already hit by extremely heavy rainfall in the past few days and directed people living in the region and government authorities to be vigilant.
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