Tiruchy: The DMK president, Mr. M K Stalin demanded that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami should tender his resignation owing moral responsibility for the collapse of nine shutters of the regulator at Upper Anicut on Kollid-am river at Mukkombu near Tiruchy recently.
Mr. Stalin accompanied by former State minister K.N. Nehru and others who visited the damaged structures at Mukkombu near here on Monday, charged that the collapse of the vents was due to carelessness of and lack of proper maintenance under the AIADMK regime.
Mr. Stalin said the collapse could have been avoided had the Government inspected the barrage well in advance. Further, releasing such huge volumes of water without prior announcement was also a factor.
Though Mr. Palaniswami announced restoration of the damaged shutters after inspecting the structure on August 24, so far not even 40 per cent of the works have been completed, charged the DMK leader.
Taking a dig at Mr. Palaniswami remark comparing the sudden collapse of the shutters to a fever that comes unannounced, Mr. Stalin said, “fever may come without a prior announcement, but the commission came with prior announcement.”
Referring to Cauvery waters not having reached several tail-end areas in the delta even 47 days after Mettur reservoir thrown open for irrigation, Mr Stalin charged the AIADMK government with having miserably failed to desilt and renovate the irrigation canals “amid a '5,000 crore scandal that has taken place in the name of desiltation of irrigation canals.’
“Such a big scandal and illegal sand business are the main reasons for the collapse of nine shutters on the Kollidam river,” he alleged and sought action against PWD officials responsible for the mess.
Meanwhile, a section of farmers of ten villages including Thindukkaraim, Elamanur, Kodiyalam, Andhanallur, Periyakaruppur, Ammankudi, and Chinnakaruppur near Mukkombu charged that indiscriminate sand mining in the Cauvery river bed had led to the collapse and also resulted in water not flowing in the Rama Vathalai canal, the lifeline of those farmers.
In their memorandum to the DMK leader Stalin, they urged him to take up this issue with the State Government and ensure smooth flow of water in Rama Vathalai canal which irrigates at least 1,650 acres of land.
Fall in line, help ryots or face protests: Stalin
Warning that the DMK would stage massive protests in support of farmers, DMK president M. K. Stalin on Monday stressed that the AIADMK government should immediately take corrective measures and desilt the channels branching from river Cauvery.
After visiting the damaged shutters in the upper anicut in Mukkombu in Tiruchy district, Stalin, in a statement on Monday recalled the promise made by Chief Minist-er Edappadi K Palaniswami on August 24, of restoring the collapsed shutters within a week. He alleged that not even 40 percent of work has been covered in setting right the damage.
Slamming the government for its lackadaisical attitude, Stalin said, “Instead of deputing PWD engineers to attend to the repairs on the shutters, or at least conduct the work supervised by PWD engineers, the government has just roped in local villagers to address the issue.”
Launching a broadside against the government for failing to inspect the upper anicut before release of such a large quantum of water from Mettur dam, Stalin said, “The Mukkombu ‘disaster’ happened mainly because the government turned a Nelson’s eye on the illegal sand mining activities in the river.
Wondering how a Chief Minister could liken the shutter collapse to a sudden ‘fever’ that humans could develop, Stalin recalled an adage comparing the present Chief Minister to popular legend Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned.” Another worrisome factor is that even as water in a large quantity was discharged from Stanley reservoir, it had not reached the tail-ends of many channels, added Stalin.
“The fact remains that the AIADMK government has not undertaken desilting works in any of the tanks, channels or lakes, and this has led to wastage of a large amount of water,” he said, warning that the DMK along with public support and farmers would stage protests against the government, if it failed to take up desiliting works immediately.
