Pondy CM accuses TN govt of not releasing water for farm use

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today accused the Tamil Nadu government of not releasing water from Veedur dam for farm use in the union territory.
Puducherry has a share in the water from Veedurdam in Villupuram district in that state under an inter-state agreement inked in 1961, he told media here today.
Narayanasamy noted that an agreement was signed by the two governments in 1961 to share water from Veedur dam to meet the irrigation requirements of farmers in Mannadipet constituency in the union territory.
The deal ensured availability of water for Puducherry for 175 days to enable farmers here to get water for cultivation on an extent of 1400 hectares from the dam, he said.

"The release of water for Mannadipet block was stopped this year.. Our plea is that the agreement should be enforced by the Tamil Nadu authorities," he said adding a letter would be shot off to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu seeking immediate release of water in keeping with the provisions of the agreement.
Veedur dam is situated in the catchment areas of Varaha river and Thondiaru in Villupuram district and had been a source of irrigation for farm lands in Mannadipet constituency in Puducherry.

"Besides, Tamil Nadu government was ignoring the Union Territory's share of 6 tmc feet of water released into the Cauvery basin by the Karnataka government," Narayanasamy alleged.

On AIADMK's demand that Congress and DMK MLAs should step down from the posts of chairmen of the PSUs and Parliamentary Secretary to CM, he said "The MLAs belonging to Congress and the DMK were appointed chairmen of the PSUs or Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister here as per the Act adopted in the territorial Assembly in the past."
"We took utmost care before appointing the MLAs to the posts of chairmen and Parliamentary Secretary and therefore the situation in Puducherry is different from New Delhi," he claimed.
The AIADMK had yesterday said it would seek disqualification of ruling Congress and DMK legislators in Puducherry "for holding office of profit," in view of the Election Commission's decision to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs in New Delhi on similar grounds.