Mullaperiyar: Hartal total in Idukki district

Amid heavy rain, the entire Idukki district, which is home to the Mullaperiyar dam, observed a hartal on Thursday to express concern over the Supreme Court verdict allowing Tamil Nadu to raise the dam’s water level.

The all-Kerala hartal, called by the Mullaperiyar Action Council, was total in Idukki district. However, it was partial in the adjoining Kottayam district, while the hartal call met with lukewarm response in the rest of Kerala.

Though their number was fewer, buses and private vehicles were on the roads across the State except in Idukki, though many shops and businesses were closed. The Opposition CPI (M) kept off the hartal decision.

The ruling United Democratic Front had called an Idukki district hartal along with the Mullaperiyar Action Council. The Kerala Congress (Mani), which has a substantial following in Idukki and Kottayam districts, had offered its support to the all-Kerala hartal call.

The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench had, in its Wednesday verdict, allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the water level of the reservoir from 136 feet to 142 feet. The court had also rescinded a Kerala law that provided for keeping the water level not above 136 feet. Kerala had, highlighting the possibility of a dam burst, sought to reduce the water level from the 142 feet allowed by the court in 2006.

The Oommen Chandy Government has called an all-party meeting for Monday to find ways to overcome the after-effects of the court verdict. The meeting will discuss several options, including pushing a review petition in the Supreme Court.

At Chappath near Thekkady, the Mullaperiyar Action Council is seeking to have the dam relocated to a safer place as the council says the dam is in a bad condition and that it might burst any time.

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