Thiruvananthapuram:
Poet and social activist Sugathakumari has asked the Tamil writers to break their silence on the Mullaperiyar dam issue when a number of people residing in their neighbouring state are living in fear of the dam.
"It is a pity that though there are many prominent writers in Tamil Nadu, none of them have uttered a word on the issue," she lamented. Inaugurating a meeting of writers and cultural personalities under the aegis of 'Samsakarika Koottayma', she said it was high time that the Tamil writers took a firm stand on the issue. The meeting has been convened to demand the setting up of a new dam at Mullaperiyar.
She said that Malayali activists did not treat Koodankulam nuclear power project issue as an exclusive one of the people of Tamil Nadu, when they went on an agitation against the project.
Transport Minister V S Sivakumar reiterated the State Government's position on the dam 'Water for Tamil Nadu and security for Kerala." Hindi poet Rathi Saxena and writer M Chandraprakash also participated.
Earlier, a host of noted poets, including P Narayana Kurup, Chunnakkara Ramankutty read out their poems conveying the anxiety of the people on the Mullaperiyar dam issue.