Chief Minister M.K. Stalin raised the shutters of the Mettur dam to release water for Kuruvai cultivation in the Cauvery delta region on Saturday and said the State would soon set a record in food production.
Mr. Stalin, along with Ministers Durai Murugan, K.N. Nehru, M. Mathiventhan, V. Senthil Balaji and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Chief Whip Govi Chezhiaan, MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin and DMK MPs, showered flowers and grains after raising the shutters.
He told journalists that this was the 18th time water was being released for Kuruvai cultivation on June 12 and about 5.21 lakh acres would benefit. Officials said 3,000 cusecs was released initially and the quantum would be increased by the evening to 10,000 cusecs. This would be maintained until June-end. They said the discharge would be increased to 16,000 cusecs in July and 18,000 cusecs in August.
The Chief Minister said that at the DMK conference held in Tiruchi ahead of the election, seven promises were made; the most important related to agriculture and water resources. The government’s target was to increase the amount of cultivable land from 60% to 75% in 10 years and the planning had started. Last year, the Kuruvai harvest was higher, and the government’s aim was to increase it further each year.
Mr. Stalin said orders had been issued to desilt waterbodies and canals on a war footing and he inspected the works on Friday. He said 647 related works were being carried out in nine districts at a cost of ₹65.10 crore. The works would cover a distance of 4,061 kilometres. He said there was a sufficient stock of inputs. Government departments had been ordered to facilitate Kuruvai cultivation and the State would set a record in food production, he said.
Mr. Stalin said the government had already written to Karnataka urging for sufficient water discharge till January.
On the linking of the Cauvery and the Godavari, Mr. Durai Murugan said the government had asked for the details of the project and further action would be taken after discussions with the Chief Minister.
Mr. Stalin said the DMK, while in Opposition, had demanded that the AIADMK government bring out a White Paper on kudimaramathu works under progress and completed. These details would be made public soon.
On the COVID-19 containment measures, the Chief Minister said the situation was under control and steps were being taken to bring down the number of cases further. On Friday, the daily cases had fallen below 16,000. When he entered office, the daily cases in Chennai were about 7,000 and they came down to 1,000. In Coimbatore, the daily case count was 2,000 as against 5,000 earlier and in Salem, it came down to 900 from 2,000.
Mr. Stalin said his government overcame the shortage of beds and oxygen. A control room, opened in Chennai, received 4,768 calls on May 20; it received only 200-300 calls at present.
The Chief Minister said some restrictions were eased to protect the livelihood of people. As for the reopening of TASMAC outlets, Mr. Stalin said no relaxation in the lockdown had been allowed in the districts reporting a higher number of cases. In some districts, the spread of the contagion had come down; hence, the outlets were allowed to function there.
