Stating that the Athikadavu – Avinashi Ground Water Recharge and Drinking Water Supply Scheme is the farmers’ dream project as their 50 years demand has been met, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday added that the scheme will be completed by the end of December, 2021.
Addressing farmers at Thiruvachi village in Perundurai block after inspecting the construction of water pumping station works that is being executed as part of the project, he said that the State funded project will fill 32 Public Works Department tanks, 42 union panchayat tanks and 970 ponds and will irrigate 24,468 acre and also provide drinking water to the people in Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode districts. “Work is being executed round-the-clock and will be completed by December, 2021”, he said.
Mr. Palaniswami said that ₹1,433 crore was allotted for the Kudimaramathu works and vandal sand (alluvium) were removed from 6,000 water bodies under the PWD control. “The sand acts as a natural fertilizer for the land while desilting helps in deepening the water body and to store more water”, he said.
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The Chief Minister said that farmers’ markets are to be established in 10 districts, each at ₹20 crore, and farmers can sell their produce directly there.
The Chief Minister said that 24 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured in the Cauvery delta region so far, while another 3.5 lakh tonnes of paddy is expected to be procured in the coming days. “This is the highest procurement in the region and it is possible only because of releasing water at the right time, supplying seeds, fertilizers and farm gadgets”, he said and added that Cauvery water had reached the tail-end for the current season.
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Earlier, speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, the Chief Minster said the State government would implement the Athikadavu-Avinashi scheme that included areas in Coimbatore district with funds from NABARD.
The government would include Periyanaickenpalayam, Karamadai, Annur and other areas that were excluded in the first phase. It was preparing a detail project report to implement the scheme and it would take funds from NABARD.
As for the first phase, the State government would complete the ₹ 1,652 crore project by December 2021.
In response to a question on the implementation of the metro rail scheme in Coimbatore, Mr. Palaniswami replied that the government would implement it once the detailed project report was ready.
For Coimbatore’s development, the government had launched several schemes including construction of flyovers to ease traffic congestion, he added.