Kerala govt indulging in 'mischievous propaganda' on dam: Jaya

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today charged Kerala government with carrying out a "mischievous propaganda" on the safety of the Mullaperiyar Dam only to create panic and whip up emotions of its people to draw political mileage.

Moving a resolution to reassert Tamil Nadu's rights on the dam at a special one-day Assembly session, she said, "Kerala government is spreading rumours that the dam is unsafe only to create panic among people. It is unfortunate that Kerala government is carrying on a mischievous propaganda to draw a political mileage".

She said at a time when Kerala government was whipping up sentiments and emotions of the people, it was decided to convene a special Assembly session "only to tell the world" that the people of Tamil Nadu were united and that the state would not give up its rights on the dam water, based on Kerala's "false" campaign.

Asserting that the dam was completely safe, she detailed steps taken to strengthen the reservoir on the basis of the Central Water Commission recommendations from 1980 to 1994.

The Supreme Court in its verdict on February 27, 2006 had also accepted the fact that the dam was safe when it said "regarding the issue as to the safety of the dam on water level being raised to 142 feet from the present level of 136 feet, the various reports have examined the safety angle in depth including the view point of earthquake resistance. The apprehensions have been found to be baseless," she said.