No connection between Aliyar and Siruvani disputes: Minister

There is no connection between water sharing issues in Aliyar and Siruvani and when the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary spoke to her Kerala counterpart, the discussion was only about Siruvani, said State Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani here on Tuesday.

A few persons for political gains had tried to misguide the farmers in the Aliyar basin, he told reporters here.

The State Government was concerned about farmers as it was about other sections of society and when it took any decision on water sharing, it would keep farmers’ interests in mind.

The Chief Minister had taken up with the Prime Minister the need for constituting the Cauvery Management Board at the earliest. If the Karnataka Government released Cauvery water, according to Supreme Court guidelines, it would solve drinking water problem in the Mettur region.

The State Government was seized of the issue of water shortage and would take all possible steps.

In response to farmers demand to release water from the Kadamparai and Parambikulam Reservoirs, he said that Electricity Minister P. Thangamani had brought the issue to the notice of the Chief Minister. The State Government would soon work out a solution, he added.

Earlier, he gave gold chain to seven girls and gold rings to 11 boys who were born on the eve of Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary.