Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani said that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami will on Friday take a decision on Kerala’s offer to supply 20 lakh litres of water by train from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai to tide over the water crisis, The Minister’s response came after the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office posted a statement on Facebook stating that Tamil Nadu had declined its help to supply water (on a one-time basis).
“Kerala is willing to assist Tamil Nadu in tackling the crisis caused by water scarcity. We could deliver 20 lakh litres of drinking water through the rail network. In response to our offer, we have been informed that at present Tamil Nadu has sufficient supply and doesn’t require additional assistance from Kerala,” the statement said.
Opposition leader and DMK president M.K. Stalin criticised the Tamil Nadu government for “rejecting” the help from the neighbouring State and urged that the water be accepted. Despite rainfall deficit, the storage in Kerala’s reservoirs is much better than in Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu government in the evening released a statement “tweeted by” Mr. Velumani, in which he confirmed that there was an offer through the Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister to his counterpart in Tamil Nadu seeking to know whether drinking water in 20 wagons could be sent.
TN gets help offer from Kerala to send 20 lakh litres of water by rail
