AIADMK to stage protests over Mullaperiyar dam issue

Chennai, Nov 2 (IANS) Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, condemning the DMK-led government for releasing water from the Mullaperiyar dam before the water level touched the 140 feet mark, said that his party the AIADMK would soon stage demonstrations across five southern districts of the state.In a statement on Monday, Panneerselvam said: "We will conduct demonstrations across five districts of south Tamil Nadu soon. Former Chief Minister, late J. Jayalalithaa, had fought a long legal battle in courts to raise the water level in Mullaperiyar dam from 136 feet to 142 feet."Rallies will be held at Ramanathapuram, Dindigul, Sivaganga, Madurai and Theni districts of the state as farmers in these areas are totally dependent on the water from the Mullaperiyar dam for farming.Panneerselvam has taken up the Mullaperiyar issue as he is trying to re-establish his supremacy among the Thevars, a community predominant in South Tamil Nadu and it is a hot subject affecting entire the southern belt of the state.At Theni, the farmers' organisations under the collective of Vaigai Dam Irrigation Farmers Association have already started protesting against the DMK government. The organisation leaders met the district collector K.V. Muraleedharan on Monday and petitioned him not to allow the Kerala leaders in the Mullaperiyar dam premises.
--IANS aal/sks/bg

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