Alleging that the ruling DMK did not carry out proper maintenance of the Parambikulam dam in Palakkad district of Kerala, former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Thursday urged the government to undertake maintenance work before the monsoon.
In a statement, Mr. Panneerselvam said farmers in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts were shocked by the damage to one of the shutters of the dam on Wednesday, which resulted in 16,000 cusecs of water flowing towards Athirapally. He said the lackadaisical attitude of the government was to blame for this.
Citing reports that it would take at least a month to repair the damaged shutter (since the work could be carried out only after all the water is released from the dam), Mr. Panneerselvam urged the government to repair the shutter immediately and ensure that such maintenance works are undertaken before the onset of the monsoon.
