Chennai: A day after Kerala accused Tamil Nadu's sudden release of water from the Mullaperiyar dam as one of the reasons for the devastating floods in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy on Friday termed the accusation "false and baseless".
"Kerala's accusations towards Tamil Nadu are false and baseless. If you say, excess water was discharged from one dam (Mullaperiyar) then how did water reach all parts of Kerala? It is the excess discharge of water from 80 dams that caused the flood in Kerala," Palanisamy told the media.
"Water from Mullaperiyar Dam was released one week after the floods struck Kerala. It was not done immediately after the floods. Three warnings were issued, first at 139 feet, second at 141 feet and third warning at 142 feet. Water was released in a phased manner," the Tamil Nadu chief minister added.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government had told the Supreme Court that as the water level breached 137 feet mark at Mullaperiyar Dam, authorities in Kerala decided to evacuate people who lived in the dam's downstream.
