DHARMAPURI: Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Anbumani Ramadoss inaugurated a lift irrigation project between Jambri and Chinarayan Lake in Karimangalam taluk on Sunday.
Speaking to the media after the inauguration, Anbumani said, “Under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds, a lift irrigation project was inaugurated between two lakes in Karimangalam taluk at Rs 18.10 lakh. Such water management schemes are crucial to the district as no other water sources exist. Despite Dharmapuri having two rivers, the Cauvery and Thenpennai, this water is unusable due to terrain. Over 400 TMC of water was drained into the Cauvery River, and if authorities diverted just two or three TMC of this water to other wells it would have improved the groundwater sources in the district. However, our requests are repeatedly ignored.”
Urging the DMK government to reinstate the old pension scheme, Anbumani said, “A committee was formed by the DMK government to study the Old Pension Scheme and two similar committees were formed by former CM J Jayalalithaa and current AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami but nothing came of it. The committee is said to report its findings in nine months, and the DMK government would make another assurance before elections and then forget about it. They are systematically cheating the government officials and this is unacceptable.”
Also urging the state government to conduct a caste-based census, Anbumani said that states like Telangana, and Bihar have completed it. “Why is DMK, hesitant to conduct a caste census?” Anbumani added.