In Mettupalayam,farmers want completion of Avinashi-Athikadavu Water Scheme to alleviate water scarcity#NamakkuNaame http://t.co/msGp5bdX7d

Visiting the agricultural belt of Mettupalayam during his Namakku Naame grassroots campaign in October 2015, DMK Treasurer M. K. Stalin strongly endorsed the longstanding demand of western Tamil Nadu farmers for the immediate execution of the Athikadavu-Avinashi Ground Water Recharge Scheme. Cultivators from Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and Erode districts assembled in large numbers to apprise Stalin of the acute water distress threatening their livelihoods. Decades of groundwater over-extraction had caused the water table to plunge hundreds of feet, parching agricultural wells, drying up ancient irrigation tanks, and decimating banana and vegetable plantations across the Kongu region. Farmers pointed out that diverting surplus floodwaters from the Bhavani river basin would replenish hundreds of village ponds and recharge depleted aquifers across three districts. Stalin strongly condemned the AIADMK administration for repeatedly delaying budgetary allocations and ignoring mass farmer agitations. He reminded the public that previous DMK governments had initiated initial feasibility surveys and technical preparations for the project. Stalin gave a firm public pledge that upon returning to power, the DMK would prioritize the Athikadavu-Avinashi project, allocate adequate capital funding, and implement the scheme expeditiously to eliminate drought across western Tamil Nadu.