TIRUCHY: Even as the Delta farmers are wilting without water during the crucial kuruvai season, the ruling TVK is engaged in creating reels and fake stories, and its leader, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, is busy with changing his office a new luxurious chamber, alleged AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami in Thanjavur on Friday.
The only achievement of the present government was protests by people from various walks of lives, he added while addressing the rally against the State government for its alleged failure to get water from Karnataka for Delta irrigation and offering full waiver on crop loans.
Palaniswami said Delta farmers lost kuruvai as water was not released from Mettur on the customary date of June 12.
Tamil Nadu should have received 9.190 TMC water in the month of June and 31 TMC water in July, but it was not realised due to the incapability of the government. “The month of August is a crucial period for the farmers. Karnataka owes us 45 TMC water but not even a single drop of water was released, which resulted in failure of kuruvai,” he said.
Despite all odds, the farmers cultivated around 2 lakh acre kuruvai using borewells. But the TVK-led government failed to provide uninterrupted power supply, which resulted in the wilting of nearly half of the crops, he charged.
The AIADMK explained the plight of the farmers on the Assembly floor and appealed for kuruvai crop compensation. “But the government was not ready to understand the pain of farmers. Instead, they go on making reels while Chief Minister Vijay is busy shifting his office to a luxurious chamber from the cabin that witnessed historic decisions being taken by stalwarts like CN Annadurai, MGR, M Karunanidhi, J Jayalalithaa, MK Stalin and me,” he said.
EPS demanded the state government to undertake crop loss assessment and disburse a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre.
He recalled that the then AIADMK government had waived crop loans to the tune of Rs 12,110 crores during two consecutive terms, which benefitted farmers who availed loans through cooperative banks. But the present government has not fulfilled even the poll promises that they had given to farmers on crop loan waiver, he said.