Idukki, Saturday, November 26, 2011: Keeping up the pressure on the Mullaperiyar issue, both the government and opposition in Kerala has demanded immediate central intervention to resolve the row between the state and Tamil Nadu over building a new dam in place of the 116-year-old structure.

“The Centre should immediately intervene as the issue concerns the lives of 30 lakh people. National parties like Congress, BJP and CPI(M) should also make their position clear urgently and the matter should be debated in Parliament,” Water Resources Minister P J Joseph told reporters here.

“I have lost sleep thinking of the danger it poses. I will continue my fight even if I lose my position as minister for that cause”, he said.

Reiterating that Kerala would not curtail water to Tamil Nadu from the present level even after a new dam was built, he said if the present dam failed Tamil Nadu would also suffer as five of its districts, irrigated by waters from Mullaperiyar, would become arid.

Meanwhile CPI(M), lead partner of Opposition LDF, wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take the initiative to resolve the issue in view of the dam’s ‘precarious condition’ and fears caused by recurrence of tremors in the area.

“The Prime Minister’s initiative is essential for an out-of-court settlement of the dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The empowered committee on Mullaperiyar formed by the Supreme Court should also intervene urgently in view of recent developments”, CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement.

The row has escalated in recent days with both states seeking the Prime Minister’s intervention.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had on Wednesday written to Singh, asking him to advise Kerala not to whip up panic among its people for political mileage.

The dam in Idukki district of Kerala is under Tamil Nadu’s control. Kerala wants to build a new dam, but Tamil Nadu insists that the existing reservoir ‘is as safe and good as new.’

(News agency)