NAGAPATTINAM: Tamil Nadu government would extend the kuruvai paddy crop package worth Rs 61.09 crore for the Cauvery Delta farmers, as has been done in the previous year, in order to ensure increase in foodgrain production, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Tuesday.
Winding up a two-day tour of the delta districts, he said the package included also a component of Rs 47 crore for distribution of certified seeds, fertilisers like DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) and potash, green manure seeds and agricultural implements, including tractors.
"This kuruvai package will benefit about 3 lakh farmers. Like last year, this year, too, we hope to exceed the target in paddy cultivation and surpass the productivity in the delta districts," he said.
Speaking to reporters in Tiruchirappalli after completing the inspection of desilting works, the Chief Minister said his government took up the desilting work in irrigation canals and waterbodies ahead of the NorthEast Monsoon and also the advance release of water from the Mettur Dam for the benefit of the ryots.
"The two-day trip gave me immense satisfaction. Last year, we took up the desilting work and ensured the Cauvery water reached the tail-end areas," he said.
The package, Stalin said, would help to bring 4.90 lakh acre under kuruvai paddy cultivation and another 13.34 lakh acre under samba.
The Chief Minister asserted that the initiative to desilt irrigation canals and waterbodies in the Cauvery Delta region would facilitate the Cauvery water to reach the tail-end areas and help farmers bring more acreage under paddy cultivation.
About 683 desilting works taken up for a length of 4,964.11 km have been completed, he said.
"The Cauvery water will now flow till the tail-end areas...this will help increase productivity. Farmers will be glad," the Chief Minister said in a tweet.
On the concluding day of the trip, which commenced on Monday, Stalin inspected the desilting work in Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai and Tiruvarur districts today.
Ahead of the kuruvai paddy crop cultivation, the State government took up the work to desilt the irrigation canals and waterbodies in 10 districts covering Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, and Cuddalore for a distance of 4,964.11 km.
All the works have been completed.
Further, for the first time since Independence the sluice gates of the Mettur Dam (in Salem) were opened on May 24, instead of the customary day on June 12, to facilitate the agricultural activities in the delta districts.
Taking time off his inspection, the Chief Minister interacted with the farmers and heard their grievances.
Later, he distributed welfare aid to the beneficiaries under the Kalaignar All Village Integrated Agriculture Development Programme.
In Mayiladuthurai, he inspected the functioning of a rice-transplanting machine.
He lauded the efforts of R Ramani, a fish worker of Thirukkadaiyur in Mayiladuthurai district, who supported her daughter Vijayalakshmi in realising her dream of becoming a medical doctor by making her study in Russia.
Vijayalakshmi completed her MBBS at the Stavropol State Medical University, Stavropol, Russia, in 2021.
Her mother Ramani ekes out a living by cleaning and slicing fish in the Mayiladuthurai fish market.
Her husband passed away 24 years ago leaving her as the sole breadwinner.
The family thanked the Chief Minister for appreciating them.