Kerala and Tamil Nadu have decided to hold official-level talks to solve the water disputes between the two states.
This emerged after the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called on his Tamil Nadu counterpart K Palaniswami in Chennai today.
The two neighbouring states are locked in a row over the Mullaperiyar dam with Kerala raising apprehensions over the safety of the over-a-century-old structure.
Though located in the Idukki district of Kerala, the dam is owned and operated by Tamil Nadu, as per an 1886 lease agreement. It irrigates several southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
In May 2014, the Supreme Court had held that the dam was safe and allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the water level to 142 feet and ultimately to 152 feet, after the completion of the measures to strengthen it further.
