Disturbed over the Cauvery water dispute, MDMK leader Vaiko's kin attempts self-immolation

Chennai: Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) founder Vaiko said a close relative of his attempted self-immolation in Virudhunagar on Friday after feeling disturbed over the Cauvery water dispute. He is admitted to hospital.

In a statement issued in Chennai, the MDMK leader appealed to people to refrain from harming themselves in a similar manner.

Vaiko said Saravana Suresh, who is related to his wife, had listened to his speech against prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Chennai on Thursday and had been feeling disturbed. According to Vaiko, on Friday morning Suresh said he was going for a walk. It was later found that he poured kerosene all over him and set himself ablaze over the Cauvery river water sharing issue.

“I have lost hope of his survival. All in my family are suffering…” due to this incident, Vaiko added. Suresh was being taken to Apollo Hospital in Madurai, he said.

Tamil Nadu political parties and various other organisations are protesting against the central government for not setting up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) as per a Supreme Court order.

The Supreme Court on February 16 reduced Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water to 177.25 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) from the earlier 192 TMC allocated by a tribunal in 2007. While Karnataka’s share of water was increased by 14.75 TMC. The court also ordered the Centre to set up the CMB within six weeks of its order.

However, the government failed to do so within the deadline that ended on 29 March.