Tamil Nadu and Kerala have no option but to calm down and reach an amicable settlement to the Mullaperiyar row. Political parties and the media should desist from whipping up passions and it is important for both states to refrain from parochial thinking. The dam’s stability and strength to withstand seismic activities are not clearly known with conflicting reports. Safety is paramount and considerations of safety should override all other concerns. If the existing dam is “unsafe and in imminent danger of collapse”, the case for the construction of a new dam becomes unassailable. If it is “safe and as good as new”, it can still be fortified to allay the fears of the downstream dwellers. Tamil Nadu farmers cannot be deprived of the “elixir of life” that Major John Pennycuick gave them. The situation should be defused before the dispute snowballs into a full-blown crisis. It can be done by doing what would have been done if Tamil Nadu and Kerala were a single state.
G David Milton, Maruthancode
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