கொங்கு மண்டல விவசாயிகளை தற்கொலையை தடுக்க, அவர்களின் வாழ்வாதாரத்தை பாதுகாக்க காலிங்கராயன் கால்வாயில் உடனடியாக தண்ணீர் திறக்க வேண்டும்...

DMK leader M.K. Stalin urged the Tamil Nadu government on November 24, 2016, to immediately release irrigation water into the historic Kalingarayan canal to protect standing crops and safeguard agricultural livelihoods across the Kongu region. Stalin warned that administrative delays in opening sluices threatened to push local cultivators into acute financial distress and agrarian despair.

The Kalingarayan canal network serves as the agricultural lifeline for thousands of farming acres spanning Erode and neighboring districts, sustaining turmeric, sugarcane, and paddy cultivation. Stalin pointed out that deficient rainfall had already severely lowered groundwater tables, leaving local farmers entirely dependent on canal flows to save their investments. Neglecting water management when crops reached critical growth stages placed rural families under immense psychological and financial pressure.

The opposition leader stated that prompt water release was essential to prevent suicides among distressed Kongu farmers who had taken substantial bank and private loans. Stalin demanded that the Public Works Department act on a war footing to manage reservoir storages efficiently, open the canal network without bureaucratic obstacles, and guarantee adequate water quotas to preserve rural livelihoods.