Bowing to pressure from political parties in the state, the
Tamil Nadu government on Thursday announced that the screening of the controversial film
'Dam999' would be
banned in the state. The terse two-line official statement merely stated, "The Tamil Nadu government has decided to ban with immediate effect the film Dam999, which is creating fear among the people regarding the
Mullaperiyar dam."
While the dam is located in Idukki district in Kerala, it is managed by Tamil Nadu as the water from the Periyar River is used for agriculture purposes for several southern districts here. While Kerala has been demanding that a new dam be constructed to replace the existing one, claiming that the structure has weakened due to the frequent tremors in the region, Tamil Nadu, citing various expert views, has stood its ground that there is no need for a new dam.
The issue took centre-stage on Tuesday with
protestors vandalising a preview theatre in Chennai which was all set to screen the film. The film's director Sohan Roy, who hails from Kerala and who was to address the media the same day, hurriedly cancelled the interaction. As protests appeared to intensify, theatre owners in the state announced on Wednesday their decision not to screen the film "respecting people's sentiments".
