A total of Rs 61.09 crore will be provided to Cauvery Delta farmers under the kuruvai paddy crop package, as it was in the previous year, said Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday.
At the end of his two-day tour of delta districts, he said the package included also a component of Rs 47 crore for the distribution of certified seeds, fertilizers, such as DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) and potash, green manure seeds, and agricultural implements, such as tractors.
The Kuruvai package will benefit about 3 lakh farmers. This year, too, we hope to surpass our paddy cultivation target and surpass the productivity in delta districts," he said.
Following the inspection of desilting works, the Chief Minister told reporters in Tiruchirappalli that his government had undertaken the desilting of irrigation canals and waterbodies ahead of the NorthEast Monsoon and had also released water from the Mettur Dam earlier for the benefit of the ryots.
"The two-day trip gave me a great deal of satisfaction. We undertook the desilting work last year to ensure that Cauvery water reached the tail-end areas," he said.
Stalin said the package would help bring 4.90 lakh acres under kuruvai paddy cultivation and another 13.34 lakh acres under samba.
According to the Chief Minister, desilting the irrigation canals and waterbodies in the Cauvery Delta region will allow water from the Cauvery to reach the tail-end areas and help farmers bring more land under paddy cultivation.
A total of 683 desilting projects covering 4,964.11 km have been completed, he said. Now that Cauvery water is flowing to the tail end areas, productivity will increase. Farmers will be happy," the Chief Minister said in his tweet.
The visit, which began on Monday, ended today with Stalin inspecting the desilting work in Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, and Tiruvarur districts.
In anticipation of kuruwai paddy crop cultivation, the state government has started work to clean irrigation canals and waterbodies in 10 districts covering Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Ruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai and Cuddalore for a distance of 4964.11 km. All work is done.
Furthermore, for the first time since 1947, the sluice gates at the Mettur Dam were opened on May 24, instead of the customary day on June 12, in order to facilitate agricultural activities in the delta districts.
The Chief Minister took some time off his inspection to talk to the farmers and hear their concerns. Later, he distributed welfare aid to the beneficiaries under the Kalaignar All Village Integrated Agriculture Development Programme.
He praised the efforts of R Ramani, a fish worker at Thirukkadaiyur in Mayiladuthurai district, who supported her daughter Vijayalakshmi in realizing her dream of becoming a doctor by making her study in Russia Vijayalakshmi got her medical degree from the Stavropol State Medical University, Stavropol, Russia in 2021.
Her mother, Ramani, earns a living by cleaning and slicing fish at the Mayiladuthurai fish market. Her husband died 24 years ago and she's now the only one working, supporting her family. The family thanked the Chief Minister for his appreciation.
