Theni forest fire: ‘We can’t say no to trekking but we must ensure due safety,’ Kamal Haasan says

COIMBATORE: Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Monday said the Tamil Nadu state government was doing a good job in rescuing those caught in forest fire in Kurangani in Theni district.
Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore after his two-day tour of the region, the actor said the Kurangani forest fire incident, which claimed the lives of nine trekkers, was a gory lesson for the state to fill vacancies in the forest department.
“I met the parents of Jayashree, a victim of the forest fire. I hope parents of the victims, in their present emotional state, don’t interfere in the medical procedures,” he said.
The Makkal Needhi Maiam founder said the incident was no one’s fault. “It is said that many who were killed and injured were youngsters. We have lost a part of our future there. We can’t say no to such trekking activities, but we should ensure due safety in the future,” he said.
Kamal said people have scant respect to forests and nature. “Many people who go to forests to party dump bottles and waste in the forests. I have seen images of an elephant which died after stepping on a broken liquor bottle,” he said.
‘Will talk to Pinarayi Vijayan’
When asked about the Kerala government’s move to build a third check dam across the Bhavani river which is an important water source for Coimbatore, Erode and Tirupur, Kamal said he would represent the people's stance to the neighbouring state.
The actor said he would meet Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and discuss the issue. “I discussed the issue with Pinarayi Vijayan earlier, but then I had not started a party. Recently, I met him when he was hospitalised in Chennai. I will take up the issue with him,” he said.
Cauvery management board
When asked about the delay in setting up a Cauvery management board, Kamal said instead of soft solutions, there have to be discussions on how to solve the issue. “We needn't have made this into an issue which can’t be solved,” he added.
“If we keep playing election games, we will never achieve unity among the southern states,” he said.
When asked about actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth’s silence on the Cauvery issue, Kamal said Rajini had been silent on several issues. “We need not single out his silence on a particular issue,” he said.
Demonetisation and GST
On demonetization, he said he had welcomed it first. “But only when economic experts pointed out the flaws in the implementation, we came to know that it could have been implemented in a better way,” he said.
He said he had never called the GST a bad move but just said the tax rate was high. “We need representation from all sectors for this issue. Several sectors are under-represented, for example cinema,” he said. “I have been asking people in the cinema field to get ready for such a move for the past seven years, but they thought I was talking about far-fetched issues.” he said.