The 116-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam in the Idukki district of
Kerala is an extraordinary feat of engineering. It is also a symbol of human
ingenuity, grit, and passion. It was built in the late nineteenth century after
several attempts, dating from the late eighteenth century, were abandoned as
unworkable. That nearly 500 workers died of malaria during the construction of
the dam (1887-95) shows the hostile environment in which the engineering feat was
achieved. It made a big difference to the people of the arid Madurai region of
Madras Presidency who had been starving for water. They cannot imagine life
without water from Periyar.
This wonderful dam has been problematic right from the beginning. According
to the Wikipedia account,
it took the British who built the dam and the Maharajah of Travancore who owned
the land twenty-four years of negotiations before a 999 year-lease was signed. It
is alleged that it was an unfair agreement foisted on the Maharajah. We don’t
know the true story.
What we do know is that that this great great human achievement is at the
heart of a complex issue with legal, technical, political, and emotional dimensions.
The damn shows signs of ageing. After a few mild earthquakes in the region,
people in Kerala believe it cannot withstand a big earthquake. Engineers and experts
in Tamil Nadu maintaining the dam are certain that it is good enough to
withstand any quake that the region is likely to experience and are willing to
strengthen it. Kerala wants to decommission it and build a new quake-proof one
using modern technology; Tamil Nadu is worried that this is a ploy to wrest
control of water and eventually deny it. Neither side trusts the other. The intermingling
of the threat to the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in Tamil
Nadu and a potential disaster awaiting several thousand people downstream in
Kerala makes it a complex issue.
Short-sighted politicians on both sides of the Kerala-Tamil Nadu
border have made this issue knottier. Every day it is getting knottier. New
fires are coming up in both the states, whose economies depend vitally on each
other. When Tamilians get beaten up in
Kerala and Malayalee shops in Chennai get vandalised, the chances of an
amicable solution virtually evaporate.
There are no simple solutions to this complex problem. I
believe a reframing of the issue is essential to bring both sides to a stage
where a fair solution can be worked out.
I will give my views in a future post. In the meanwhile, I’m asking
students of my course, Persuasive Communication, to study it as persuasion
challenge and come out with a blueprint for a solution.
Readers, would you like to contribute your thoughts? Please
don’t take a partisan view. There are plenty of people who have taken it on
both sides of the border. What we need is a solution that has a reasonably good
chance of being accepted by people of both the states. That can happen only
through persuasion.
Photo credit: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullaperiyar_Dam
I suspect the best thing to do, as there is lot of distrust on both sides is to declare the region as no go zone for both sides. Make is centrally administered territory for some time. Then appoint a central government agency, like IIT Roorkee or similar to study the safety of dam. If there are any concerns with safety of dam, immediate funding from central govt to repair. The water is the dam continues to be supplied as per existing formula decided by Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteWe cannot take chances with lives of people around the dam, if there are any safety concerns. Also, as there is great distrust, it would not be appropriate for either side to propose any solution.
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, i thank you very much for bringing this topic to light. Taking sight of the recent comments of the Supreme Court (that it doesn't feel this situation has reached a critical point), there surely needs to be a consensus to be arrived at.
I quite appreciate the views of the Kerala Chief Minister (dd. 15.12.2011), wherein he attempts to reframe the issue and focusses on important issues like water-sharing, and such assurances to provide more comfort to people across the border. This are signs of taking people along with himself, and make them view the benefits of the problem and atleast take small steps in the direction.
The benefits of such an approach are that, wise people (in such situations, wisdom & experience always win over intelligence) on the other side of the border understand the benefits being discussed, and might work to take a mature view from their end too.
Above are my views on how one could approach this situation, and to work towards the same.
Thank you GM and Ankur for your insightful comments. Let's wait for other readers also to respond.
ReplyDeleteFrom Alex Thomas via email:
ReplyDeleteAs a first step ,I feel, attempts should be made to calm people from both sides. A good number of the ordinary people in Kerala do not subscribe to the politician’s view that the dam is in imminent danger. They think that politicians and media blew the issue out of proportion. At the same time there are people who are genuinely apprehensive about the dam's safety.
Ideal situation would have been for both states to sit together and find a solution with the help of experts. But that stage is now over and unfortunately we do not have statesmen as leaders who have the confidence of the people.
Presently Central Government's writ does not run large in Tamil Nadu and hence PM's intervention may not be useful. A beginning can be made if Supreme court can get both Kerala and Tamil Nadu to declare that they would accept the verdict of the empowered committee , appointed by Supreme Court, whatever be it.
Unless leaders of both state show faith in institutions like Supreme Court, Central Water Commission , empowered committee etc this issue can never be solved.
Thanks, Alex. Let's wait for a few more ideas.
ReplyDeleteSir, I believe that getting a neutral perspective is not something that will work out. As seen in the case of the Koodankulam Nuclear Plant, the views of a seemingly neutral Abdul Kalam were rejected by the localites, and so have been many other expert opinions in favour of the project. At most, the expert report, will be quoted in further advertisements of the side whose favour it is in, as something in favour of their argument.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to resolve this would be a political consensus, but that, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala will be projected by the opposition as a sign of weakness and exploited over the course of generations to come, against the parties that were 'party' to it.