Now, Pinarayi Vijayan too feels Mullaperiyar dam is unsafe

Thiruvananthapuram: In a shift from his previous stand, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that he stood by the Assembly resolution and all party meet stand that Mullaperiyar dam was not safe. In a written reply to P. T. Thomas, MLA, the chief minister said that he had never expressed divergent views on the Mullaperiyar dam issue. The Congress legislator had pointed out the contradictions in his statements made in connection with the dam, had created confusion in the state.

During his first visit to Delhi after taking over the reins of state, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stated that the expert committee report on dam safety could not be wished away. He even went to the extent of questioning the urgency for a new dam at Mullaperiyar.

“The first issue is whether the dam has a defect or not. Experts who examined the dam had pointed out that steps required for strengthening the structure had been carried out. So far we have been only raising our apprehensions. The inspection report by experts cannot be completely rejected.  We should proceed further based on the result of the expert panel report,” the chief minister had then stated.

However, later the chief minister toned down his position. “We don’t agree with their view.  But when we say the dam is unsafe then we should be able to prove it,” he said while calling for a detailed inspection by a team of international experts on dam safety especially those who have the expertise of examining the safety of dams which are more than 100 years old. The chief minister has now stated that the decision on international expert team would be taken in consultation with Tamil Nadu government.