Government indifferent to water crisis in State: CPI(M)

‘CM, Deputy CM busy visiting Delhi to seek berths for their MPs in the Union cabinet’

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary K. Balakrishnan addressing Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association state committee meeting in Rameswaram on Saturday.

Accusing the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government of being indifferent to the acute drinking water crisis and plight of farmers across the State, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary K. Balakrishnan has demanded the immediate convening of Assembly session to discuss the issues and take remedial measures.

Talking to reporters, ahead of addressing the State committee meeting of Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association in Rameswaram on Saturday, he said that when almost all the districts faced acute drinking water crisis, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister. O Panneerselvam were busy visiting Delhi to seek berths for their MPs in the Union cabinet.

After the general elections, the two were camping in Delhi on most of the days, not to seek assistance from the Centre to address the drinking water crisis or to secure Cauvery water or even to discuss controversies in the draft of the new education policy but seek berths for their MPs in the Union cabinet.

Farmers in the Delta districts could not take up ‘kuruvai’ cultivation for the eighth year this year for want of Cauvery water but the government was least bothered to get water, despite the Cauvery Management Board asking Karnataka to release water. The government was scared of convening Assembly session in view of the no-confidence-notice given by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) against the Speaker. Similarly, the government was scared of conducting elections to the local bodies, Mr. Balakrishnan said.

While ‘ignoring’ the interests of the people, the Central and State governments were thrusting anti-people schemes such as the eight-lane Chennai-Salem Green Corridor, hydrocarbon and Methane projects in the delta districts on the people. The CPI (M) would convene a meeting of all political parties and farmers’ organisations in Thanjavur on June 18 to discuss the issues and draw strategies to oppose the anti-people projects, he said.

Alleging that the ‘kudimaramathu’ work (maintenance of waterbodies) being implemented since 2016-17 had only benefited the ruling party men, he said, had the government properly implemented the works, huge amount of rainwater and excess water in Cauvery last year would not have flown waste into the sea.