Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the State government was determined to protect the livelihood of fishing community in the same manner it was going during the tenure of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Speaking at a function here on Wednesday to inaugurate various projects in Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar districts, Mr. Palaniswami said he was deeply sorrowed by the killing of K. Britjo (21) from Rameswaram by Sri Lankan Navy.
Apart from announcing a compensation of ₹ 5 lakh to Britjo’s family, he immediately sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to summon the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to raise the issue strongly with the government of the island nation.
He said following in the footsteps of Jayalalithaa, the present government would take steps to ensure fishing rights for Tamil Nadu fishermen in Palk Strait and to reclaim Katchatheevu.
Pointing out that ₹193.33 crore was allocated to Fisheries Department for the year 2010-11 by the DMK government, the Chief Minister said the allocation was increased to ₹843.79 crore for 2016-17 by Jayalalithaa.
A number of projects to develop fishing-related infrastructure had been initiated in the past five years, including establishment of a fishing harbour in Mookaiyur in Ramanathapuram district, he said.
Mr. Palaniswami also listed the measures taken by the present government to address the severe drought situation in the State, including sanctioning of ₹2,247 crore as compensation to more than 32 lakh farmers.
Earlier, he inaugurated completed works and also commencement of works for 6,874 projects worth ₹1,004.13 crore, undertaken by different departments in the six districts.
The projects included housing units constructed under Chief Minister’s Solar Powered Green House Scheme, government buildings and bus stands.
Ramanathapuram district topped the list in value of projects with 1,398 projects worth ₹600.18 crore, followed by Dindigul (1,644 projects worth ₹103.93 cr), Madurai (1,641 projects worth ₹91.51 cr), Theni (333 projects worth ₹84.43 cr), Virudhunagar (1,301 projects worth ₹79.07 cr) and Sivaganga (548 projects worth ₹45.01 cr).
State Ministers C. Srinivasan (Forests), K. Raju (Cooperation), R.B. Udhayakumar (Revenue), K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji (Milk and Dairy Development), M. Manikandan (Information Technology), G. Baskaran, (Khadi and Village Industries Board), and MLAs and MPs from the region, and senior officials took part in the function.
