Chennai, 09 August (H.S.):The Southern Districts Farmers Association has welcomed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the proposed Godavari-Cauvery-Gundar river-linking project in its entirety, saying the project could provide a long-term solution to irrigation and water shortages in the State’s drought-prone southern districts.

Association functionary R. Ram Pandian said the Chief Minister’s intervention had raised hopes among farmers who have long demanded that the river-linking proposal be extended to the Cauvery, Vaigai and Gundar basins.

He recalled that Vijay had written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention and requesting appropriate directions to the Union government for implementing the project in its original form.

The National Water Development Agency has proposed a river-linking project involving the Godavari, Pennar, Palar and Vellar rivers. However, farmers contend that the present proposal would primarily benefit parts of northern Tamil Nadu, as the link would terminate before reaching the Cauvery and consequently leave the southern districts without substantial benefits.

The Chief Minister has urged the Centre to follow the earlier proposal that envisaged extending the interlinking network through the Cauvery, Vaigai and Gundar rivers, ensuring that water reaches the Gundar basin irrigation systems.

Pandian said implementing the entire project would provide a permanent irrigation source to lakhs of acres of agricultural land in Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi districts.

Farmers in these districts are currently grappling with drought-like conditions and declining water availability, which have affected cultivation and agricultural livelihoods, he said.

Water scarcity has also created drinking water difficulties in several areas, while farmers are struggling to secure adequate water for their cattle.

Pandian said Vijay’s demand that Tamil Nadu farmers receive the full benefits of the ambitious river-linking scheme was therefore encouraging for the farming community, particularly in the water-stressed southern districts.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman