Mullaperiyar: Vayalar Ravi holds talks with Vaiko

Saturday, December 24, 2011: The Union Minister, Vayalar Ravi, today had a telephonic conversation with MDMK leader Vaiko in connection with the Mullaperiyar dam issue which has seen Kerala and Tamil Nadu at loggerheads.
Vayalar Ravi had a called Vaiko as per the instruction of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested him to give up the agitation over the issue. The issue has snowballed in the last few weeks with Kerala raising the pitch for the new dam citing safety concerns about the existing structure.
Kerala has been pressing for twin demands: for a new dam and lowering the water level in the reservoir to 120 feet from 136 feet as an immediate safety measure.

Kerala has been witnessing a series of protests by various political parties and social groups for a new dam in the wake of recent tremors in the region and rising water level in the dam, located in Kerala’s Idduki district but maintained by Tamil Nadu under a 999 year lease.