Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer M.K. Stalin on
Tuesday accused the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)
government of dumping the Rs.1928-crore Hogenakkal Drinking Water and
Fluorosis Mitigation Scheme.
Beginning his election
campaign for DMK’s Krishnagiri Lok Sabha candidate P. Chinnapillappa at
Thally, Mr. Stalin said many areas, especially the rural habitations in
Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, were yet to benefit from the
scheme. (The scheme was drawn up to provide a solution to the problem of
high fluoride content in ground water that caused health problems in
the people of the two districts.)
The scheme was
implemented because of the efforts taken by the previous DMK government.
It was the DMK which took efforts to bring the scheme into reality with
the financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA).
As much as 99 per cent of the scheme
was over during the DMK rule, but the AIADMK government dumped the
scheme after coming to power.
The scheme was
dedicated by the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to the public in haste at
the end of May last year through video-conferencing. Many rural
habitations that were affected by fluoride in ground water were yet to
get protected water under the Hogenakkal scheme. It was the DMK
government which took a lot of efforts to implement various integrated
drinking water schemes in the State such as the Ramanathapuram
Integrated Drinking Water scheme and desalination plants. Providing
protected drinking water to the public was the government’s duty.
Instead of providing water free of cost, the only State selling bottled
drinking water was Tamil Nadu, Mr. Stalin said.
Mr.
Stalin also campaigned at Denkanikottai, Kelamangalam, Hosur,
Shoolagiri, Kurubarapalli, Krishangiri, Bargur, Mathur and Pochampalli.
Later,
addressing a public meeting at Uthangarai in the evening, Mr. Stalin
dared the AIADMK Government to prove before a committee of legislators
of various parties that it had implemented the Hogenakkal scheme
totally.
Mr. Stalin also accused the Bharatiya Janata
Party of intending to cause communal unrest across the nation by
pledging in its manifesto to build Ram Temple at Ayodhya and bringing
about a uniform civil code.
