The fellow observers and followers
of the Mullaperiyar case will probably agree with me that the verdict of
Supreme Court today, though not shocking, is an absolute disgrace to the entire
state of Kerala. They are confronted with an extraordinary judgment they would
never have imagined. It caused immediate controversy and also fueled the
regionalistic sentiments among the people of mostly similar culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds. The current
verdict which is in fact a repeat of 2006 judgment looks like a prejudiced one
and thus resembles that of a “crack-the – whip” order of an army general who
was seriously annoyed with an act of military disobedience committed by one of
his subordinates. The “Dam Safety Act” passed by the Kerala Assembly in the
year 2006 to overcome the Supreme Court judgment acted as a catalyst to bring
about a harsh judgment from the bench without going deeper into the details of
several scientific and extensive studies on the structural, seismic and basic
safety of the dam. The supreme court, by doing so, thus knowingly or
unknowingly become instigator of a conflict between two states which could be
easily solved if either government can afford the political repercussions of
accepting the naked truths about the safety of the dam and thereby taking
corrective measures. It is accepted by one and all that raising the height of
the dam would be disastrous as the present structure can’t withstand the
pressure. Studies have categorically concluded that the dam will collapse if
the area, which is already under seismic zone, is struck by an earth quack of
magnitude 7 or more. Tamil Nadu’s repeated assertions that the dam is safe even
after 120 years of use have no takers. Nevertheless, just for the sake of
discussion, let's imagine that the dam is quite safe and strong and can easily
withstand a major earthquake of a higher magnitude, but still we can't
underestimate the fear and panic in the minds of thousands of people who are
living there in the dam downstream under constant threat of being washed away
in the blink of an eye. Under the procedural aspect, the court should have
examined whether the studies on the safety of the dam were conducted in a
prompt, scientific and diligent way regardless of whether the dam under
question faces an imminent collapse or not. It is also the responsibility of
the court to take a decision by considering all the facts and thus taking into
account the public confidence and support for the rule of law. And hence, on such
issues, the court should appreciate the feelings of the public and should come
up with a mutually amicable solution particularly when the Kerala government is
willing to rebuild the dam with its own money, as already agreed upon, without
changing the current water sharing formula. Here the court considers that all
aspects were already examined and therefore concludes that no separate
examination of new facts and evidences is needed. But at the end of the day,
the case under question is of lives and livelihoods and hence, the court could
have been more empathetic towards the lives rather than giving much more
importance to the livelihoods. I feel it’s my right to voice my genuine concern
for the several lakhs people living in the Mullaperiyar dam downstream……God
shall save them all…….
P.S:-Titanic was believed to be unsinkable. Who would have imagined that one day America’s tallest building would be a disaster? …..! The only thing that is predictable in this universe is unpredictability.... Is there any evidence of studies showing the dam will never collapse? Let’s not listen to what politicians say. They are professionally trained liars and deceivers, propagating blatant lies as guaranteed truth and we idiots buy into their crap and false statements. Here nobody, not even the courts, have the almighty power to get back a single life, not to mention many lakhs, once lost. Here the issue is not the dam faces collapse or not, but the mistrust prevails between the two states and the cheap political gains thereon. Fear and panic in the minds of people residing there in the valley over this issue needs to be addressed at that level to pull it out by the roots. Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be for them, living in a place under constant threat of being washed away in the blink of an eye, by sitting in Delhi or somewhere else in Trivandrum. If rebuilding a dam is one solution, so be it.
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