VS to observe fast at Mullaperiyar on December 7

IDUKKI: CPI(M) stalwart V S Achuthanandan today announced that he would observe a one day fast on December 7 at Mullaperiyar to mobilise public opinion in favour of Kerala's demand for a new dam and urgent central intervention.Top leaders of the ruling Congress-led UDF and Opposition LDF today visited the dam site here and reiterated their fears about the threat posed by 116-year-old structure to people living downstream.Though the teams of the rival coalitions visited the area separately, they told reporters that there was no difference between them on the core demand on the Mullaperiyar issue.Achuthanandan, who led the LDF team, wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a firm stand on the issue and bring the chief ministers of two states for talks urgently.Kerala PCC president Ramesh Chennithala, who headed the UDF team, expressed the hope of early central initiative on the issue.He told reporters that a report drawn up based on the visit would be submitted to the Centre.He termed as "unfortunate" the letter written by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa accusing Kerala of whipping up fear psychosis over the issue.