Alleging misappropriation of funds released for desilting of water bodies and failure in completing the works properly, a group of farmers from Thanjavur staged a protest on Tuesday and demanded an inquiry headed by a team of IAS officers.
Farmers in Thanjavur staging a protest on a lake bund on Tuesday
Thiruchirapalli:
According to president of Tamil Desiya Periyakkam and Coordinator of Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee, P Maniarasan, the Aachaan lake irrigates around 250 acres in and around Aachampatti in Thanjavur.
In order to desilt the lake and strengthen banks and construct three weirs, a sum of Rs 40 lakh was released three years back. “After this, we expected that the PWD will replace the old structure with a new one and construct two more new weirs. But they retained the old one and constructed only two new weirs,” he said.
Meanwhile Maniarasan said, since the Nandavanam weir was renovated, the water in the Aachaan lake could not be stored and it affected farming activities.
“We suspect misappropriation of funds in the issue and demand a proper inquiry by a team led by an IAS officer. Action must be taken against those who swindled the public money,” stressed Maniarasan.