TIRUCHY: The minister for agriculture, R Vinoth, on Saturday announced that the TVK government is prioritising the desilting of C and D canals, which have reportedly been neglected for the past 30 years. The process to identify flood-prone spots is under way, he added.

Inspecting the desilting work in the canals in Kumbakonam, he said that in view of the northeast monsoon, the flood prevention activities have been accelerated across the state, while the agriculture and agriculture engineering department officials have been deployed to identify the flood-prone locations.

Pointing out that free water flow to fields was disrupted because the C and D canals were not desilted in the past 30 years, he said, “But now, the TVK government is concentrating more on these canals, and the desilt works are under way. The work would be completed on time," the minister said.

He also stated that besides agricultural areas, the residential areas in Thanjavur are also being inspected and all flood preventive measures are in place. Special task forces have been established to shift and protect the people in the vulnerable areas. “We have asked the officials to enumerate the locations that were flooded during the previous years and initiate all preventive steps," he said.

He also stated that the harvested crops that were damaged due to the monsoon rains would be inspected by the officials and proper compensation would be distributed to the affected farmers.

District Collector R Revathi and others accompanied the minister.