Chennai, 14 August (H.S.): AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday accused the TVK government of prioritising social media publicity over farmers’ welfare and claimed that its first 100 days had been marked by widespread protests.

Addressing an AIADMK rally in Thanjavur, Palaniswami criticised the government for allegedly failing to secure Cauvery water for delta irrigation and fulfil its promise of waiving farmers’ crop loans.

He said delta farmers had lost the kuruvai cultivation season because water was not released from the Mettur reservoir on the customary date of June 12. Tamil Nadu should have received 9.190 tmcft of water in June and 31 tmcft in July, but the state government failed to ensure the releases, he alleged.

Palaniswami said August was crucial for delta agriculture and claimed that Karnataka owed Tamil Nadu 45 tmcft of water. The failure to obtain the state’s share had severely affected kuruvai cultivation across the delta, he added.

According to him, farmers cultivated kuruvai on nearly two lakh acres using borewells despite the water shortage. However, inadequate and interrupted electricity supply caused crops on about one lakh acres to wither, he claimed.

The former chief minister said the AIADMK had raised the plight of delta farmers in the Assembly and demanded compensation for kuruvai crop losses. He urged the government to conduct an immediate assessment of the damage and provide adequate relief to affected cultivators.

Palaniswami also said the previous AIADMK government had waived cooperative crop loans during two successive terms, benefiting farmers across Tamil Nadu. He accused the TVK government of failing to implement its own crop-loan waiver promise.

Speaking to reporters later, Palaniswami alleged that the government’s principal achievement during its first 100 days was producing promotional reels and renaming existing schemes by adding the word “Vetri.”

Asked about the absence of some senior AIADMK leaders from the protest, he described it as an internal party matter and dismissed speculation over it.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman