CM Palaniswami reviews drought relief measures in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday reviewed drought relief measures taken up by various government departments to tackle the drought situation in the state.

Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister S P Velumani, Industries Minister M C Sampath, Revenue Minister R B Udhaya Kumar, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and senior government officials took part in the meeting, an official release said.

The state is experiencing severe drought not experienced in the last 140 years due to rain deficit of 62 per cent owing to monsoon failure. Reservoirs that cater to city hold only 20 per cent of water capacity.

A group of Tamil Nadu farmers have been protesting in Delhi for over ten days, demanding a Rs-40,000 crore drought relief package from the Centre for Tamil Nadu, loan waiver, among others.