വിഷു ആശംസകള്‍ 

Congress concedes to Muslim League's demand for ministerial berth

After days of hectic parleys, Kerala's ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance has decided to induct two new ministers into the cabinet. Manjalamkuzhi Ali of the Muslim League, who recently crossed over from the Left camp and Kerala Congress' Anoop Jacob, who won the recent Piravom bypoll, will be sworn-in as cabinet ministers on Thursday. The decision was taken at a crucial meeting of UDF alliance partners here late on Wednesday.

However, no new portfolio will be allocated to Ali, who will have to share some of the portfolios that are already with the Muslim League. A final decision on portfolios of Ali and Jacob will be taken only after the swearing-in, said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy after the meeting.

The UDF had promised a cabinet berth for Anoop Jacob during the Piravom bypoll -- a move many believe contributed to his outstanding win. Anoop is the son of the late UDF minister TM Jacob, who died in October last year, while in office.

But sources in the UDF told that big brother Congress was forced to concede to its ally Muslim League's demand as a crucial assembly by-election in Neyattinkara is round the corner. There was intense opposition from within the Congress' rank and file to the League's demand for a fifth cabinet berth.

Asked whether the decision amounted to a surrender by the Congress to unreasonable demands of its allies, Chandy said: "There is no surrender in UDF. Neither are any decisions thrust on anyone."

Ever since the Muslim League stepped up its demand for a fifth cabinet berth, there was apprehension within the Congress whether this would alter the 'caste and communal equations' in the cabinet. With this expansion, the number of ministers from minority communities has risen to 12 in the 21-member cabinet.

"Not all decisions taken at all times can be perfect. There are certain political compulsions in a democratic framework," the Chief Minister replied when asked about the caste-communal imbalance in the cabinet.

The UDF also decided to support R Selvaraj, who recently quit as a CPM legislator, in the upcoming assembly by-poll in Neyyatinkara.

Indonesia Reacts to 8.7 Magnitude Earthquake & Tsunami warning alarms across the Indian Ocean area ,

An 8.7 magnitude earthquake has hit below the ocean off the northern Aceh province of Indonesia, causing families in the area to flee their homes.

Originally reported as 8.9 magnitude, the earthquake has been downgraded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), but strong aftershocks of 6.5 magnitude have been reported, and tremors have been felt as far as India and Sri Lanka.

A tsunami warning has been triggered across the Indian Ocean area, with warning sirens ringing in Phuket, which had been set up in the wake of the tragedy of 2004. It is reported that people are calmly evacuating to safety zones.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has stated its uncertainty as to whether a tsunami will strike, but have recommended that authorities in vulnerable areas “take appropriate action.”

The earthquake struck 33km (20 miles) under the sea, about 495km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. This is roughly the same area as the December 26, 2004 disaster, which had a magnitude of 9, when 230,000 people perished overall.

Indonesia straddles an area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, for its volatile seismic activity.

However, Bruce Presgrave, a USGS official, has reported to the BBC that a tsunami being generated is unlikely, due to the quake moving the earth horizontally rather than vertically: “We can’t rule out the possibility, but horizontal motion is less likely to produce a destructive tsunami.”

Indonesian officials suggest that there is no immediate damage of rising water levels in the region, and the National Disaster Management Authority has asserted that there is “no likelihood” of a tsunami occurring.

It was initially reported as 8.9 magnitude but was later revised down to 8.6 by the USGS. Quake officials said a tsunami had been generated and was heading for the coast of Aceh.

A PTWC alert said that sea level readings indicated a tsunami was generated and that it "may already have been destructive along some coasts," without specifying where.

A Thai disaster official said a 10cm wave had been recorded on Koh Miang island, off Phang Nga.


People fled for higher ground in Aceh province
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had told reporters in the capital, Jakarta, that there had been no tsunami reports so far, "but we remain vigilant".

"Our warning system is working well, and I have ordered the national relief team to fly immediately to Aceh to ensure the situation is under control and to take any necessary action," he said.

A few hours later, the PTWC renewed its warning after a major aftershock measuring 8.2 struck 16km (10 miles) beneath the ocean floor and 615km from Banda Aceh.

An AFP correspondent in Banda Aceh said the aftershock lasted four minutes,

"People are panicking and running outside their home and from buildings," he said.

The PTWC issues advisory alerts across the region, which state authorities can use to issue their own emergency procedures. Indonesia straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of major seismic activity.

'Minute of chaos'
Sutopo, a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, said electricity had been cut in Aceh and there were traffic jams to access higher ground.

"Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," he told Reuters.

Tremors were felt as far away as Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India. The French island of Reunion was also on alert.

"There was a tremor felt by all of us working in the building," a man called Vincent in Calcutta, India, told the BBC.

"All just ran out of the building and people were asked not to use the elevator. There was a minute of chaos where all started ringing up to their family and asking about their well-being."

The Thai office of disaster management said people along the coasts of Phuket, Phang Na and Andaman province should heed warnings and evacuate.

Tsunami warning sirens, set up in many vulnerable areas after the 2004 disaster, were heard in Phuket, where correspondents said people were calmly following evacuation routes to safe zones.

But seismic experts said the nature of the first quake meant it was unlikely to generate a tsunami on the scale of the 2004 one.

Roger Musson, a seismologist from Britain's Royal Geological Survey, said it was unlike the quakes seen off Indonesia in recent years, where ground had been pushed under the continental plate, "flipping up" the seabed.

"It seems to be a large earthquake within the Indian Plate and the plate has broken in a sort of lateral way," he said. "It's a sort of tearing earthquake, and this is much less likely to cause a tsunami because it's not displacing large volumes of water."

VS Achuthanandan out of politburo as Karat reign continues

Eighty eight-year old VS Achuthanandan, the only surviving ‘founder member’ of the CPI(M) has been ousted from the party’s politburo.

Subsequently, a visibly upset VS boycotted valedictory function of the Party Congress at Kozhikode.

Prakash Karat, who was re-elected as party general secretary for the third time, announced the 15 names in the reconstituted politburo. MA Baby from Kerala was inducted in place of VS. “In all probability, Baby will be the next general secretary of the party when Prakash Karat steps down in 2015,” Appukuttan Vallikkunnu, a former CPI(M) ideologue told that “But it is not known whether Baby can attract crowds like the way VS used to do. He has no charisma or mass appeal,” said Vallikkunnu.

Suryakant Misra (Bengal) and AK Padmanabhan (Tamil Nadu) are the other new faces in the PB. The other members are Prakash Karat, Pinarayi Vijayan, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, S Ramachandran Pillai, BV Raghavelu, Manik Sarkar, Brinda Karat, Sitaram Yechuri, K Varadarajan, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Nirupam Sen and Biman Basu.

A senior CPI(M) delegate said the ouster of VS and induction of Baby are fallouts of the shadow boxing between Karat and Yechuri. “Yechury fought till the last moment for induction of VS in the PB. Hereafter we can expect a long drawn out war between the duo,” he said.

Vallikkunnu, who earned the wrath of the party leaders for pointing out the lapses, said Karat has become a prisoner of a coterie of Kerala and West Bengal units. “Since the maximum delegates were from these two states, Karat had to toe the lines of local satraps like Pinarayi Vijayan. The new breed of leaders resembles corporate honchos rather than the comrades who sacrificed lives for the poor and suppressed classes,” he said.

Berlin Kunhanandan Nair (88), the only surviving delegate of the first congress of the CPI, said the party congress has made it clear that the CPI(M) has become irrelevant in India. “I would like to describe it as the Confused Party of India (Marxists),” thundered Nair. He pointed out that the CPI(M) had declared in the run up to the Party Congress that it would work for the Left Front.

“The next day, S Ramachandran Pillai declared that they would form a Left and Democratic Front. On the concluding day the party said it would enter into electoral alliance with regional parties wherever possible,” he said.

MUSLIM LEAGUE's FIFTH MINISTER - CONFLICT CONTINUES

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Tuesday decided to leave the matter of Muslim League’s fifth cabinet berth to Congress High Command. At the meeting of KPPC, majority of the members raised voice against League’s demand for a ministerial post and decided to inform the High Command of their discontent with League’s demand.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala will leave for Delhi on Wednesday evening to meet the Congress High Command for discussions over Muslim League’s demand for an additional cabinet berth. A final decision on this will only be taken after talks with League leaders.

Muslim League had been pressing for the fifth ministerial post ever since the UDF government assumed office last year.

Fifth ministerial berth to League will affect communal balance

The state’s communal balance would be affected if the Muslim League is given a fifth ministerial berth in the cabinet, said NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair.

Delaying the entry of Anoop Jacob is like denying justice to the voters of Piravom. Ministerial berth to League can happen any time later, he said.

Delaying ministerial post to Anoop for League is not correct. Nair asked the UDF not to stoop to the demand of the Muslim League and the issue should be considered seriously.

The argument between Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai and his minister son K B Ganesh Kumar would be solved soon, he said.

Kerala Hindus aren’t a majority for Cong allies By P.C.George

Hindus constitute 56 percent of Kerala population, but political parties of religious minorities in the State’s ruling front have found some strange methods of demography to project them as a minority with the devious objective of overtaking the majority community in all aspects of social life, starting with representation in the State Cabinet.

According to certain allies of the Congress party’s the ruling UDF coalition, Hindus in Kerala are no bigger force than the Muslims and Christians who together account for 44 percent of total Kerala population. Muslims constitute 25 percent of the Kerala population and Christians 19 percent.

The proponent of this strange idea is PC George, Kerala Government chief whip, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s personal trouble-shooter and vice-chairman of the Kerala Congress (M), a political party of the Christians based mainly in Kottayam, Kerala’s latex capital. George claimed the other day that the theory that Hindus are religious majority in Kerala was a myth.

Though the primary aim of George, a Catholic, is to justify the Muslim League’s claim for a fifth berth in the Chandy Cabinet and his own party’s demand for a Rajya Sabha seat, observers are apprehensive that his theory could lead to a situation where the minorities can upset the social harmony presently prevailing in God’s Own Country.

Once newly elected MLA Anoop Jacob of the Kerala Congress (J) takes oath (which has to happen soon), the minorities will have 11 Ministers (55 percent) in the 20-member Chandy Cabinet though their combined share in the population is 44 percent. If the Muslim League’s fifth Minister becomes a reality, the entire community balance would be upset.

Even presently, minorities have a clear upper hand in the Chandy Government. George was made the Chief Whip instead of Minister but he is enjoying the status of and all the privileges available to a Cabinet member. It is also a fact that important portfolios like Industries, Finance, Law, Education, Public Works and Water Resources are held by Ministers from the minorities.

Stating that the Muslim League deserved to get seven (“not five or six”) Cabinet berths if its vote-base seen in the last Assembly election was taken into account, George told the media the other day that the CPI(M) was opposing the minorities’ just rights in their efforts to play the “majority communalism card”.

“As per the latest census figures, Christians and Muslims constitute 44 percent of the total Kerala population. The scheduled castes and scheduled tribes form 12 percent and 27 percent (among the Hindus) of the population are Ezhavas. This shows that Hindus are not a majority in Kerala,” George said.

According to observers, George is being extra-clever by excluding Dalits and Adivasis from the Hindus. Equally strange is his exclusion of Ezhava, a backward Hindu caste, they say. Experts in population studies have no idea as to how George is going to justify his premises but they say that he could be trying to start some controversy.

“There has never been any doubt over the religion to which the Adivasi-Dalits and Ezhavas belong at any point of time in Kerala. George is perhaps trying to trigger such a dispute with the objective of establishing minority hegemony in Kerala. If that is so, it is going to be dangerous,” said an Alappuzha-based historian.

George’s claim for more representation for minorities has come at a time when the Chandy Government is already accused of bowing to their pressures in all aspects of governance. Even KR Gowri, leader of UDF constituent JSS, said on Sunday that Kerala was presently seeing the strongest combination of communal and community forces since 1957.

“Even now, the State is being ruled by the Muslim League,” said Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan, adding that a fifth Minister for that party would affect the community balance in the Government. He also said that he did not want to respond to the “nonsensical” statements of PC George.

CPM PARTY CONGRESS START ON WEDNESDAY

Top Communist leaders from various parts of the country would converge for the six-day 20th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) beginning in this historic city tomorrow. More than 800 delegates, including politburo and central committee members, would deliberate in detail international and national issues, including electoral set back suffered in the West Bengal ending more than three-decade long Left Front rule. The meet is also expected to adopt a strategy for the 2014 general elections. However, no fraternal delegate from abroad would attend the meeting this time, sources said.

Touted as significant, the meet was scheduled to adopt organisational, political and ideological resolutions after incorporating amendments following detailed deliberations by the delegates and expected to amend the party constitution. CPI (M) Kerala Unit Secretary and Reception Committee Chairman Pinarayi Vijayan will hoist the flag being brought from Alappuzha, at the Kozhikode beach venue for the congress titled as M K Pandhe Nagar", Tuesday evening.
The 734 delegates, 70 observers and 11 senior partymen gathering here for the six-day event will have to introspect on its reverses and ways to overcome them, especially in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress made history, breaking CPM's 34-year stranglehold.
After its narrow miss in Kerala in last year's assembly polls, the party is now only left with a state government in Tripura.
The party has set as its prime agenda the fight against neo-liberal economic policies detrimental to the interests of the nation.

"Imperialist offensive has sharply intensified in all spheres threatening the party's strategic objective of human emancipation and liberation," the draft resolution says.

The fight against growth of communal forces disrupting the unity of people in the country by dividing them on communal lines is also high on the party's agenda, sources said. "There will be threadbare discussions on CPI-M's ideological line in the party congress. The party's organisational work since the last Congress in Coimbatore in 2008, will also be reviewed," party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said.

According to CPM state secretary and PB member Pinarayi Vijayan, the Central Committee would meet here tomorrow to finalise the agenda of the Congress.

There would not be any foreign delegates in the congress this year as leaders of Communist parties are now in constant touch with one another.

Interestingly, the all-India meet is taking place without fraternal delegates at a time when the Indian Left has taken on as a key campaign theme the crisis of capitalism and resurgence of working class movements in many parts of the world, including the 'Occupy Wallstreet' campaign in America.

When the party held its state meet here in February, its central slogan was "Marx is correct."
The march carrying the flag to be hoisted at the congress venue, which began from Punnapra-Vayalar martyrs' column in Alappuzha on March 31, would reach here tomorrow.

ACTRESS ANANNYA IN DILEMMA REGARDING HER MARRIAGE WITH ANJENEYAN

Actress Ananya who has done quite a number of Malayalam films was known for films like Nadodigal, Engeyum Eppodhum, Seedan in Tamil and was engagened to Tripur based businessman Anjeneyan on February 2nd.

Recently there were reports that Anjeneyan is already married to a woman from Kozhikode in 2008 and is waiting for an impending divorce from his earlier marriage. Certain reports also said that he has two kids from his previous Wedding. It is said that Ananya's father Gopalakrishnan had lodged a complaint against Anjaneyan for having hidden the truth from them.
However claiming all these reports to be false and baseless rumors, Ananya is reported to have told a media, “These are all rumors. No such thing ever happened. Agreed, I’m a public figure. But that doesn’t mean I’m public property and that everyone is entitled to discuss my personal life.”

Ananya also added, “Ours is an arranged marriage and our families are happy that we are going to be married. I have no idea how people assumed I am on house arrest. If I were, I wouldn’t be shooting for director Venugopan’s film 'The Reporter' now in Kochi.”

However, some other reports also claim that Ananya knew all about Anjaneyan's divorce and that she did not disclose the information to her parents as she was in love with him and hence agreed to marry him despite knowing he is a divorcee. It is also said that since they are waiting for the impending divorce, the marriage date was not yet fixed.Actress Ananya who has done quite a number of Malayalam films was known for films like Nadodigal, Engeyum Eppodhum, Seedan in Tamil and was engaged to Tripur based businessman Anjeneyan on February 3rd .

K.JAYAKUMAR BECOME THE NEW CHIEF SECRETARY OF KERALA

The state government has decided to appoint Additional Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar as the new Chief Secretary of the State.
The post would be left vacant following retirement of present Chief Secretary Dr. P. Prabhakaran on March 31. This was informed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy during the cabinet briefing session here on Wednesday.
The State government has also approved the request from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for imposing power cut on industries and load-shedding on other power consumers in the State. It has been decided to impose night load shedding from 6 pm to 10 pm.
The final decision regarding this would be taken by the KSEB.

CPI KERALA STATE SECRETARY C.K.CHANDRAPPAN PASSES AWAY

C K Chandrappan, a dominant figure of Indian mainstream Left for the last several decades and former Lok Sabha member, died in a private hospital here today, party sources said. He had been undergoing treatment for cancer for the last few months and was admitted to hospital two days back after he suffered an infection. CPI's Kerala state secretary, Chandrappan (77) is survived by wife Bulu Roychoudhury, who was with him when the end came. Chandrappan was elected to Lok Sabha from Thalassery in 1971, Kannur in 1977 and from Thrissur in 2004. He was also elected to Kerala Assembly twice from hometown Cherthala. Hailing from the Communist fortress Vayalar in

Alappuzha district,he was born on November 10, 1936 as son of Ammukutty Amma and C K Kumara Panicker, the legendary leader of the Vayalar uprising that shook the princely state Travancore on the eve of Independence. Entering politics at a very young age as activist of the Communist Party's student wing AISF, he held all-India positions in the Communist youth and student outfits. As a youth leader, he participated in the struggle for liberation of Goa from Portuguese hold. Ideologically, Chandrappan was known as a follower of late leader S A Dange, who famously propounded the line of Congress-Communist strategic alliance. However, he remained with the parent party when some of Dange's followers left the party in late 1970s. He became the

party's Kerala state Secretary last year and was re-elected for a three year term to the post last month. Suave, softspoken and studious, Chandrappan made a deep impression as a serious debater in Parliament and assembly as he was well versed in a wide range of international and national issues.

secretariatil കൊലപാതക സ്ഥലം മാറ്റം

secretariatile ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥനായ പ്രിന്‍സിനെ വയനാടിലെക്
സ്ഥലം മാറ്റി . താന്‍ ഒരു ഹാര്‍ട്ട്‌ patient ആണെന്നും തനെ വയനാടിലെക്
സ്ഥലം മട്ടരുതെനും പ്രിന്‍സ് അഭ്യര്‍ഥിച്ചു. ithinethrea assiciation കാര്‍
നോട്ടിസിരക്കി " സഹാവിനു വയനാട്ടില്‍ പോയീ ജോലിചെയന്‍ വയതതിനാല്‍
അസോസിയേഷന്‍ തിണ്ണ നിരങ്ങുന് എന്ന് .പാവം ഇത്തരം പരിഹാസം
സഹിക്കാനാകാതെ ജീവന്‍ പോയാലും അഭിമാനമാണ് വലുത് എന്ന്
ചിന്തിച്ച് വയനാട്ടില്‍ പോയി ജോയിന്‍ ചെയ്തു .ജോലിയില്‍ ജോയിന്‍
ചെയ്തു മുനാം ദിവസം പ്രിന്‍സ് ഹാര്‍ട്ട്‌ അറ്റാക്ക്‌ ആയി മരണമടഞ്ഞു .
ഇതിനു ഉത്തരവാതി ആരാണ് ?

Kerala Police Detains Two Italian Ship Guards In Fishermen Killing Case

Kerala police on Sunday took into custody two armed personnel of an Italian vessel from which gunshots were fired killing two fishermen off Alappuzha on Wednesday.

Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, who are part of the six-member security detail of the ship Enrica Lexie from Italian Navy, were brought to the shore this evening nearly eight hours past the deadline set by the police last night.

The two were brought to the shore from the vessel by senior police officers led by Ernakulam Range IGP K. Padma Kumar, Kochi Police commissioner, M. R. Ajith Kumar, Kollam SP Sam Christy Daniel and Assistant Commissioner (Special Branch) M.N. Ramesh. Italian Consul General also accompanied them.

They were taken to a CISF guest house at nearby Wellignton island for detailed interrogation, police sources said.

IGP Padmakumar told reporters that police examined documents in the ship and recorded the statement of the 20-odd crew and the Captain.

“As the matter was very sensitive, a detailed statement had to be made,” he said adding, at no point of time they (ship crew) created any obstacles and extended their cooperation.

Meanwhile, an Italian delegation, including officials from their Legal and Foreign ministries, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and met Indian officials in connection with the killing of fishermen by the guards on board the ship.

The visiting team discussed the case with senior External Affairs Ministry officials during which the Indian side expressed hope that the Italians will cooperate in ensuring that law of the land takes its course.

MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said both the sides had a “fairly comprehensive” discussion.

“We had a fairly comprehensive discussion whereby we have explained to them the rationale of our position and the situation as it exists today. We have also explained to them that as good partners and as External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna had requested yesterday, we hope Italy will cooperate with us in ensuring law of the land takes its course. We also requested them to fully cooperate with Kerala Police,” he told reporters.

Official sources have said that the team will also go to Kochi for legal consultations in connection with the case.

The two fishermen, Ajesh Binki (25) and Jalastein (45) ,were killed off Kollam coast near Kerala when armed guards of the ship fired at their boat, suspecting it to be a vessel belonging to pirates.
Kerala Police officers Sunday morning began recording the statements of the crew of the Italian tanker 'Enrica Lexie', currently berthed here as part of the investigation into the killing of two Indian fishermen.

Inspector General of Police K. Padmakumar told reporters here that the investigating officers were recording the statements of the captain and other crew members.

'The investigating officers include Kollam Superintendent of Police Sam Christy Daniel. They have taken the statements from the captain and other crew members. They are fully cooperating with the process,' said Padmakumar.

An team of Kerala Police officers, as also ballistic and forensic experts, boarded the ship Sunday morning for investigations.

Top officials from the Italian Embassy were also aboard the ship and were in constant touch with authorities in Delhi.

Sources pointed out that the two security officers of the Italian ship who shot dead two Indian fishermen four days ago are likely to be taken into custody by the police.

Two fishermen, Ajesh Binki, 25, from Tamil Nadu and Gelastine, 45, from Kerala, were mistaken as pirates and shot dead by the crew of the Italian cargo vessel on Wednesday evening, about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha.

The owners of the ship had late Saturday agreed to cooperate with the inquiry.

Two Italian Marines arrested by Kerala Police
Indian diplomacy ended four days of Italian defiance on Sunday, allowing the Kerala Police to arrest two members of Italian ship Enrica Lexie's security team who allegedly shot dead two fishermen off the state's coast on Wednesday.

Marines Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore

Girone, part of the six-member security detail of the ship - from the Italian navy - were arrested nearly eight hours past the 8am deadline set by the police for the ship's authorities to turn them over.
"They will be handed over to the Kollam Police and produced before a magistrate," Ernakulam range inspector general of police K Padmakumar said.

Though the police had sought the custody of six people, they later zeroed in on the two for the killing of fishermen Ajesh Binki, 25, and Jalastein, 45.

The Italians had fired on their boat after mistaking them for pirates.

The breakthrough came after the Centre rejected arguments offered by a special Italian delegation in New Delhi to stave off the arrests.

The Indian side insisted that the ship's crew would have to face trial in India.

Kochi city police commissioner MR Ajith Kumar and his team reached the ship, berthed in Kochi port, in the morning and started quizzing the accused. Italian consular general Giampaolo Cutillo was present when the arrest took place.

A murder case was registered against them at Neendakara costal police station. The arrested will be questioned at Kochi police club and later produced before the magistrate. A team of eminent lawyers is camping in the city to assist Italian authorities.

Though the police had sought the custody of six crew members later they zeroed in on two, believed to be Italian navy commandos, who fired at unarmed fishermen.

“If needed we will add more after questioning the arrested,” a senior police office said when asked about this.

“It was so cumbersome and irritating. Since diplomatic strings were attached we showed utmost restraint and patience,” the officer said ridiculing the Italian authorities delay tactics showing flimsy reasons.

Throughout the talks Italian authorities insisted that India could not take action against them as the incident occurred in international water.

However its claim did not wash with the regional commander of Coast Guard (west), inspector general SPS Basra, who said the fishing boat was in Indian exclusive zone when it was fired upon.

Kerala director general of police Jacob Punoose also maintained that the firing took place in Indian waters and the country has every right to book them under Indian laws.

After the firing the Indian Navy and Cost Guard vessels had escorted the 58,000 tonne merchant vessel — carrying crude oil and cargo from Egypt to Singapore — to the Kochi Port. The ship’s crew includes 19 Indians.

The ball started rolling after the Prime Minister’s office sought a report from both home and external affairs ministries and Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy toughened his posture calling it a ‘cold-blooded murder.’

Mullapperiyar: Issues of Dam Safety CPM urges PM to intervene in Mullaperiyar issue

The Mullapperiyar (Mulla Periyar) dam is one of the oldest dams in service in the World. We are talking of safety of the 105-year-old dam when the average life span of well designed and well built dams is generally considered to be about 50 to 60 years by International experts.

The safety issues relating to Mullapperiyar are heavily interlinked with the safety of the dams of the Idukki project downstream. The level of risk associated with a dam is a function of probability as well as consequences of dam failure.* The fact that the failure of the Mullapperiyar dam could lead to failure of the Idukki dam increases the magnitude of the risk associated with the continued use of the Mullapperiyar dam.

Given the size of the Idukki, the extent of the devastation that could result from failure of Idukki dam is unimaginable. Idukki's reservoir capacity is about 74400 million cubic feet of water with a weight of more than 2100 million tonnes. The expert committee set up by the State Government to study the Mullapperiyar issues has stated that failure of Idukki dams would lead to inundation of more than three districts of Kerala. This itself presents a frightening picture. The problem is compounded by the fact that hardly any up-to-date early warnings systems, emergency action plans including an evacuation plan exists in the case of both Idukki and Mullapperiyar. Evacuation of people in the event of a dam break from three highly populated districts is practically impossible. Moreover, no dependable dam break inundation study is available to determine the zones to be evacuated.

The probability of a dam failure depends on many factors such as spillway capacity, seismic resistance, nature of foundation, quality of design and construction, monitoring and maintenance and a host of human factors.* Idukki has some weak points in almost all these respects, which I shall discuss later in this paper.

In the case of Mullapperiyar the main risk factor arises from its age itself. As I pointed out earlier, not many dams of this age are in service in the World now. It is a dam built using old technology and naturally was not based on modern parameters for design of dams. Much of the binding material (lime) have leached out over the years. Though the Tamil Nadu Government has grouted the dam with concrete, the expert committee has concluded that this was neither sufficient nor highly efficient in making up for the loss of lime from the body of the dam. There is the possibility that hollow areas would remain inside the dam whatever be the efforts taken in this regard.

Apart from maintenance, monitoring is an important aspect of keeping a dam safe. The Central Water Commission had suggested installation of a definite pattern of instrumentation at Mullapperiyar to monitor the condition of the dam. Though Tamil Nadu did install some instruments, no measurements had been made available to Kerala. Though the Kerala Government suggested joint monitoring, Tamil Nadu has not agreed to this. In fact, Tamil Nadu engineers have told the technical committee of Kerala that it had not been successful in implementing the necessary instrumentation of the dam. There is apparently no instrumentation in the old portion of the dam. In the backing concrete portion, built as part of the strengthening works, uplift pressure cells, strain metres, joint metres and thermometres have been provided. These were said to have been installed in 1984. However, Tamil Nadu has either not done systematic monitoring of the dam so far or is hiding the data from Kerala. An old dam left without any monitoring itself is a serious matter. Moreover, no instrumentation like piezometres, inclinometres, extensometres and gauging weirs are in place to monitor the foundation.

There is monitoring failures in the case of Idukki dam also. Some of the instruments embedded in the dam were either not working or giving unreliable readings for several years. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) defaulted on taking regular readings and publishing the data. There is also no indication of sufficient preparedness from the part of the Board for emergency measures such as the opening of the spillways. According to the expert committee, the spillways at Idukki do not have the capacity to handle even the probable maximum flood (PMF) discharge from Mullapperiyar not to speak of a breach of the Mullapperiyar dam. The PMF of Mullapperiyar basin is 6003 cumecs while the maximum spillway and outlet capacity provided at Idukki reservoir is only 5100 cumecs. This mean that a big flood in the Mullapperiyar basin itself can endanger the Idukki dams if they are at or near full reservoir levels. All these should raise concerns even if the Mullapperiyar dam is strong enough.
To put the situation in the right perspective, it must be noted here that one of the oldest serving dams is the 75-miles arch dam of Australia constructed in 1880. However, such long serving dams are exceptions. There is a limit to the number of years one can keep dams in service through maintenance and strengthening measures. One day, it has to be rebuilt, or the dam will give way. Visionary leaders should anticipate this and act accordingly, though that may be difficult course of action for a popular Government in Tamil Nadu under the present circumstances. The problem with Mullapperiyar is that there is no alternate site for construction of a new dam (unless Tamil Nadu/Kerala is prepared to construct a wider dam downstream at a high cost). So, disruption of water supply is bound to occur if the existing dam is demolished and reconstructed. The leaders should prepare the people to go without water for irrigation for some years, if no other alternatives could be found. Kerala cannot be giving water to Tamil Nadu at grave risk to its own population.

Mullapperiyar dam, located near Kumily in Idukki district of Kerala State in India, is 438.91 metres long and 48 metres high. The front and rear faces are of uncoursed rubble masonry in lime mortar. Concrete with sandstone and lime surkhi mortar forms the core. It was built for a gross storage of 443.23 M Cum. (15.6 TMCft). It is on the Mullapperiyar, one of the tributaries of Periyar (river), and the reservoir formed by it is often referred to as the Periyar reservoir.

The dam was constructed on the basis of a lease deed between the erstwhile Travancore State and Madras Governments (under British rule) in 1886. Now, there is a dispute between the Kerala and Tamil Nadu State Governments, formed after India became an independent country, over raising of the reservoir level at Mullapperiyar. The maximum water level at the reservoir had been lowered to 136 feet about 20 years ago, on the advice of the Central Water Commission, as the dam developed leaks. The Tamil Nadu Government demands that it should be raised to the original 152 feet as the State had strengthened the dam.

Heavy security measure has been taken around Kerala's Mullaperiyar Dam to save people residing at the region as after Saturday's earthquake, its water level on Sunday, Nov 27 reached the maximum range.

Three control rooms have been opened to monitor the situation and help people if any emergency comes, informed the district administration.

With the Mullaperiyar issue gaining steam with every passing day, it seems the stage is set for a Kerala-Tamil Nadu showdown. With online campaigns and other social media networks taking up the cause and firing it, the issue will not die down any time soon.

On the same matter, a group of close to hundred members are intending to go on an indefinite hunger strike demanding the reconstruction of the Mullaperiyar dam.

The regionm experienced a series of 4 quakes which were felt in the wee hours of Saturday morning at around 3:14am. This was followed by quakes at 3.20, 5.30, 5.55. Though there are no reports of casualties and damages, the issue of Mullaperiyar is foremost in the minds of residents. They rushed out of their homes in a state of panic.

CPM in Kerala on Friday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention for resolving the row between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar dam in view of the precarious condition of the 116-year-old structure and fears caused by recurrence of tremors in the area.

"The Prime Minister's initiative is essential for an out-of-court settlement of the dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The empowered committee on Mullaperiyar formed by the Supreme Court should also intervene urgently in view of recent developments," CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement here.