Dam panel report: Chandy mum on media speculations

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday declined to comment on speculations by a section of the media on the content of the report submitted to the Supreme Court by the Empowered Committee on Mullaperiyar dam dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.


"The state government has no information on this," he said when reporters sought his reactions to reports in a section of media suggesting that the panel had given due consideration to Kerala's concerns on the safety of the 119-year-old dam.


"We have presented our case well. Water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala has been our firm stand. It has received wide acceptability", he said.


The five-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of India A S Anand was set up in February 2010 to look into all aspects of the dam, over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been at loggerheads for long.


While Tamil Nadu has contended that the dam is safe and its water level has to be raised from 132 feet to 136 feet, Kerala has been pressing for construction of a new dam to replace the existing structure, built during the British colonial rule.