Shops owned by Keralites attacked in Tamil Nadu

[Lankan Ranger]

Shops owned by Keralites attacked in Tamil Nadu

The political tussle between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the Mullaperiyar Dam has shifted to the streets of Chennai, Coimbatore and Thanjavur with Tamil groups attacking shops owned by Keralites and forcing them to shut down on Wednesday.

Retaliating to the attacks on Tamils in Kerala, a Tamil fringe group attacked a sweets shop owned by a Keralite in Chennai's Saidapet area, while a jewellery shop in T Nagar area was forced to down its shutters as a group of protestors staged demonstration outside it.

Similarly, shops owned by Keralites in Coimbatore and Thanjavur were forced to close down by protestors.

Demonstrations were also held outside the jewellery shops owned by Keralites in the state.

A large police force has been deployed for security outside big shops owned by Keralites in Chennai.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa held a meeting with her cabinet colleagues and officials to discuss the tense situation in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border areas.

Leader of Opposition in the assembly A Vijayakant condemned the attack on Ayyappa devotees and bus passengers from Tamil Nadu by anti-social elements in Kerala.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, he said: "The central and the Kerala governments are watching the attacks on innocent Tamils in Kerala. Both the governments have to take strong action against the anti-social elements."

".... the weakness is in the Kerala politicians and not in the Mullaperiyar Dam," he said.

On the other hand, PMK founder-leader S Ramadoss in a statement here demanded economic blockade of Kerala by closing the routes to that state for a week and imposing a ban on Keralites buying properties in Tamil Nadu.

Shops owned by Keralites attacked in Tamil Nadu - Hindustan Times

 

[Lankan Ranger]

Dammed and Dangerous

When Pat Boone sang Moody River, he wasn’t referring to the Periyar (big river) in south India. But the crooner’s words ring true for the moody Periyar whose muddy waters could turn deadly if two states — Kerala and Tamil Nadu — do not put a lid on political rhetoric and deal with dangerous undercurrents sweeping the region.

The Mullaperiyar dam row in south India has not run its course yet. Decibel levels on the issue are drowning out clarity over the three-decade old dispute, raising obstacles to finding a permanent solution.

Posturing amid some ‘mild’ tremors in the area have had millions shaking about the course the big river could take and the devastation it could wreak if a weak and old dam on its course buckles under the weight of water.

The dooomsday scenario is not lost on some 3.5 million people living on the banks of the river, which snakes its way through Kerala before meeting the Arabian Sea. The quakes may have been minor, but damage has been done to the dam, and a bigger trembler of 6 on the Richter scale, could be too much for the structure to handle.

But why did it take so long for governments to wake up to the dangers of a deluge on one side and drought on the other? The issue first reared its head in 1979 and ‘‘emergency measures were implemented’’ by 1986, according to a Central Water Commission report. It has been acknowledged that the structure is flawed and only the holes are being plugged to keep it standing.

This is a battle between livelihood on one side and lives on the other. And when survival is at stake since 1979, fear gains ground leading to loss of trust, that vital element which keeps communities together. Indifferent politics on one side has not helped the cause of the people of four districts in the Kerala, while rabble-rousing from politicians in Tamil Nadu have delayed answers to the vexed issue.

Here’s the worst-case scenario from Mullaperiyar, which is situated at the top of a mountain system on the Western Ghats. The river flows into the massive Idukki reservoir with a live storage 1.5 billion cubic metres of water. Three dams block this ocean of water and this includes the Idukki arch dam, considered the largest of its kind in Asia. Mullaperiyar’s collapse would make the water blast into the Idukki reservoir, which could lead to a likely crack or collapse of the arch dam and submergence of young hills near the artificial water body. The water could sweep the rest away — people, villages, houses — everything in sight, all the way to the commercial capital Kochi.

What is disappointing about Indian politics is that parties take their eyes off the national interest in their clamour for power. Some like the Left in Kerala continue to ideate on ideology. The ruling alliance led by the Congress in the state and the Left are only now coming round to the dangers posed by the weakened dam.

It must be noted that Kerala did not scrap or rewrite the British Raj era agreement of 1886, which came up for renewal in 1970. Instead, it allowed its neighbour to use water from the reservoir to generate electricity for a paltry annual sum of Rs 40,000.

Legally, Tamil Nadu, is on a sound footing, but does not see beyond the irrigation needs of its five districts, which are likely to be affected if Kerala decides to build a new dam to be on the safe side of the divide.

Idukki district has over a dozen large and medium-sized dams. So why build more dams to compound the problems of the area and its people, considering that the life of such structures are only 70-100 years?

Further repairs to the damaged dam, as suggested by Tamil Nadu, are again stop-gap arrangements and do not assuage concerns of thes millions who are unwitting victims of a British era historical blunder.

State politics should not wall efforts to bring down tensions by lowering the water level.

When lives are in peril, livelihood can afford to wait.

Dammed and dangerous

 

[Lankan Ranger]

 

[Water Car Engineer]

No!! Kottayam is right in the danger zone!

 

[Kazhugu]

bad........both tamils getting attacked in kerala and kerlites getting attacked in tn....

 

[harpoon]

bad........both tamils getting attacked in kerala and kerlites getting attacked in tn....

I hadn't heard of any Tamilian owned shops attacked in my city or anywhere in Kerala. I am from Trivandrum by the way and there are many shops and hotels here owned by Tamilians, the biggest may be 'Pothis'.

TN must control wackos like Vaiko & Ramdoss.

 

[venu309]

Hey what's happening? I hope this doesn't get blown-up to become a major issue.

 

[harpoon]

Hey what's happening? I hope this doesn't get blown-up to become a major issue.

I must say that I am deeply disappointed with the political leadership of both the states. Instead of approaching this issue with common sense, they are whipping up emotions on both sides of the border. What a shame!!

 

[jha]

This 999 deal is ridiculous to begin with...Both governments should have scrapped this after independence..
How long the colonial legacies will torment us...

 

[Kazhugu]

I hadn't heard of any Tamilian owned shops attacked in my city or anywhere in Kerala. I am from Trivandrum by the way and there are many shops and hotels here owned by Tamilians, the biggest may be 'Pothis'.

TN must control wackos like Vaiko & Ramdoss.

i dont know..i posted because the news report said so....that tamils were attacked in kerala....and this was a retaliatory attacks....

whatever...both sides shuld act with common sense.....even kerala politicians inflaming passions...

Leader of Opposition in the assembly A Vijayakant condemned the attack on Ayyappa devotees and bus passengers from Tamil Nadu by anti-social elements in Kerala.

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attacking swamis...bad..

 

[venu309]

I must say that I am deeply disappointed with the political leadership of both the states. Instead of approaching this issue with common sense, they are whipping up emotions on both sides of the border. What a shame!!

Yes I hope sanity prevails.

 

[harpoon]

i dont know..i posted because the news report said so....that tamils were attacked in kerala....and this was a retaliatory attacks....

whatever...both sides shuld act with common sense.....even kerala politicians inflaming passions...

\

attacking swamis...bad..

Dude, the attack in Kerala was carried out by some anti-social elements, while in TN it is being led by political parties led by Ramdoss, Waiko etc. Moreover that you are stopping essential supplies to Kerala.You know very well how much we are dependent on food stuffs imported from TN. What type of attitude is this?This is more suited to enemy nations not to fellow Indians. As I said before my city has large number of Tamil owned shops including Pothis. Not a single stone was thrown at them. In a way I am proud of my fellow Keralites for their restrained response to violence against Malayalees in TN (I saw in Sun TV ), but I cannot say for how much we will keep this restraint.

 

[harpoon]

This 999 deal is ridiculous to begin with...Both governments should have scrapped this after independence..
How long the colonial legacies will torment us...

Why are we blaming the British? This problem is 100% Indian.The stupidity of Keralites and arrogance of Tamilians.

 

[humanfirst]

Attacking tamil devotees were entirely unwanted.ba*tards who did it should be severely punished.Hope sanity prevails in both states.

 

[Fireurimagination]

Bloody Pesky Politicians