Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar on Thursday visited the site of the ongoing protest at Vypeen under the aegis of Mullaperiyar Tunnel Protest Committee demanding the construction of a new tunnel to release water to Tamil Nadu from the Mullaperiyar dam, instead of building a new dam as proposed by the Kerala government.
Ms. Patkar expressed her support for the 372-day-long protest. She urged Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments to construct a new tunnel, as recommended in the Supreme Court verdict in 2014. She criticised the proposal for a new dam at a time when dams across the globe are being decommissioned due to the risks they posed.
She called on both governments to engage in negotiations, and that if they failed to do so, the people of both States would take the initiative. Ms. Patkar urged local bodies from Mullaperiyar to Vypeen to pass resolutions demanding the construction of a new tunnel to lower the water level in the Mullaperiyar reservoir. She also stated that she would write to the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu about the issue.
The committee plans to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to resolve differences and build consensus between the people of the two bordering States. While the protest will continue to advocate for the tunnel, the committee also intends to initiate direct dialogues with farmers and intellectuals in Tamil Nadu concerning the more-than-a-century-old dam.
The committee maintains that the more-than-a-decade-old verdict by a five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on Mullaperiyar referred to the construction of a new tunnel, positioned lower than the existing one, to release water to Tamil Nadu. This would reduce water level in the dam, ensuring both supply to Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala.
According to the committee, constructing such a tunnel would cost around ₹100 crore, significantly less than the estimated ₹2,000 crore for a new dam, which would also take considerably more time to complete.
Published - October 09, 2025 08:11 pm IST
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