MADURAI: Over 500 members of the Federation of Mullai Periyar Vaigai Basin Farmers Association on Tuesday staged a hunger strike in front of Natraj theatre, demanding the Tamil Nadu government to maintain Mullaiperiyar dam's storage capacity at 142 feet. Their other demands included not to follow the rule curve method, demolish the private buildings constructed near the dam as part of encroachments, etc.
Farmer representative P R Pandian said about 5 lakh acres of agricultural land in the districts of Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Ramanathapura, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar are dependent on the dam water. "The Kerala government is trying to make revenue from the dam water. At present, it is selling electricity generated from Idukki dam to other states. It alleged that the dam will be broken if water is stored to its full capacity," he said.
He added, "In November when Congress proposed to break the dam, Kerala Chief Minister had stated that the dam was strong. But now he is trying to construct a parallel new dam, which is shocking." Pandian said that Kerala's proposal of 'rule curve' method prevented the dam from storing water till 142 feet, its full capacity, which was against Supreme Court's verdict.
Besides this, the federation also urged the Tamil Nadu government to strengthen the baby dam near Mullaiperiyar by war footing steps and take efforts to prohibit the entry of Kerala politicians without getting permission from Tamil Nadu government.