Chennai, Nov 6 (IANS) AIADMK Chief Coordinator and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Saturday lashed out at the DMK government for opening the spillway shutters of the Mullaperiyar Dam even before the water level reached the 142 feet height prescribed by the Supreme Court.
In a statement, he said that the party has the moral right to speak on any issue concerning the people of the state and to question the actions of the government.
Panneerselvam called upon the DMK to explain to the people on the circumstances that led to the opening of spillway shutters of Mullaperiyar dam even at 136 feet of water height, and if they don’t, they will have to face the consequences.
He said that there was no proper response from state Water Resources Minister, S. Duraimurugan on the questions raised by his party, and asked whether the release of water from Mullaperiyar was an arbitrary action by Kerala or whether Tamil Nadu had given clearance to it.
He also asked as to how the officials of Tamil Nadu were present at the Mullaperiyar dam site if the shutters were opened by Kerala.
Panneerselvam questioned how the Tamil Nadu government took such an important decision affecting the lives of the people of south Tamil Nadu without consulting farmers and political parties.
He also came out strongly against Duraimurugan’s statement that Panneerselvam had not visited Mullaperiyar, saying that he had visited the dam site at least 14 times since 2002.
He also said that the AIADMK would hold protest marches in south Tamil Nadu on November 9 against the “unilateral action” of the state government that would affect the farmers of the region.
–IANS
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