Over 2,000 ponds, lakes to be desilted in TN: CM

Around 2,200 ponds and lakes across the State will be desilted at a cost of Rs.300 crore, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said today.
Work on desilting 1,519 water bodies is in progress in various parts of the State to enable store rain water and the govenrment would soon take up work to desilt 2,200 ponds and lakes, for which Rs.300 crore will be released, Palaniswami told reporters at the airport here.
Similarly, work to desilt the Mettur dam, in which Cauvery water is stored, would commence next week, he said.
As far as farmers affected by drought, steps were being taken to compensate the losses through banks under crop insurance scheme, he said and added that efforts were on to pool Rs.6,000 to Rs.7,000 crore for this purpose.

District Collectors have been asked to verify if any of the farmers was omitted for distributing compensation for crop loss, Palanisamy said.
Talks were continuing with regard to merger of both the factions of AIADMK, he said.