Every hour is precious for state, says Chandy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  Even as many actions of the UDF Government on the Mullaperiyar issue has drawn flak, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy tried to strike a delicate balance at an all-party meeting held here on Tuesday and asserted that every hour was precious for Kerala on account of the tremor-prone nature of the area.  Addressing the meet, Chandy said that Kerala should have only one voice at this juncture - bring down the water level to 120 feet, construct a new dam after ensuring water due to Tamil Nadu.He also sought the co-operation of all and urged restraint saying that protests crossing the limits would derail the state’s objective. “The issue and the stance of the Kerala gained national attention now,’’ he said. Chandy said the DGPs of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are in constant touch and effective measures have been put in place to prevent the repeat of untoward incidents.  The High Court had not gone into the safety aspects of the dam but scanned only the precautionary measures taken by the state in the event of a breach of the reservoir. “What is being discussed is the possibility  of containing the water, in case of a breach, in Idukki dam after reducing the water level in the latter. The state is bound to lose `485 crore worth of water if hydel power is generated from it, as per the action plan. The state will have to spend seven times of that to offset the power shortage during the summer season, according to estimates. But compared to the projected loss of lives if the Mullaperiyar dam fails, the loss of water from Idukki is nothing ,’” he told the meet.He said the prospects of a new dam has brightened now, with Tamil Nadu  agreeing for talks. The report filed by the Roorkee IIT on the strength of the dam has been approved by the Supreme Court empowered committee. Kerala will approach SC amid all these welcome signs, he added.