Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Saturday made a stinging attack on Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the way he is handling the thorny issue of the leaking Mullaperiyar dam, claiming that Vijayan is working hand in hand with Tamil Nadu, which wants to raise the water level to 152 feet.

At a 24-hour fast protest organised by Idukki Lok Sabha Congress member Dean Kuriakose near the Cheruthonni dam site, Satheesan salmmed Vijayan, asking that permission be granted to replace the leaky dam, which is now 126 years old.

At the start of the 24-hour fast, Satheesan recalled a demonstration by the then-opposition Left Democratic Front on December 8, 2011, when Oommen Chandy was the chief minister.

"Vijayan, along with then-Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, were part of a 208-kilometer human chain that stretched from near the Mullaperiyar dam site to the Arabian Sea in Kochi, where they pledged to demand a new dam at Mullaperiyar to replace the 116-year-old leaky Mullaperiyar dam. And look at what he's saying now: he thinks the dam is safe and that he's working hand in hand with Tamil Nadu, which wants the water level raised to 152 feet "'Satheesan stated.'

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