Mettur dam built at ₹4.80 cr, CM Vijay's visit cost ₹5 cr, alleges Tamil Nadu BJP chief

Launching a sharp attack on the TVK government, BJP leader Nainar Nagenthran claimed on Wednesday that the state administration spent ₹5 crore on the chief minister's recent visit to Mettur Dam, alleging that the travel expenditure exceeded the historical cost of constructing the reservoir itself.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay waves as he arrives at the airport for the opening of the sluice gates of the Stanley Reservoir for irrigation in the Cauvery delta districts at Mettur, in Salem on Tuesday. (@CMOTamilnadu X)Addressing reporters here, Nagendran termed the Chief Minister a "costly Chief Minister" and questioned the necessity of deploying barricades and spending public funds on the visit when the dam held only partial capacity.

"Until today, the total expenditure incurred to construct the Mettur Dam was only ₹4.80 crore. Today, the Chief Minister has spent ₹5 crore just to travel from his point of departure to Mettur with barricades lined up on both sides," Nagenthran alleged.

Accusing the state government of "failing" delta farmers, the BJP leader pointed out that the sluice gates of the Mettur Dam, traditionally opened on June 12 for cultivation, faced delays due to an acute water shortage. He stated that against the dam's total capacity of 95 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), it currently held only 54 TMC.

He added that it would take at least 12 days for the released water to reach the tail-end areas of the Cauvery delta. Nagenthran hit out at the ruling TVK for "failing" to secure Tamil Nadu's share of Cauvery water from neighbouring Karnataka, despite being in an alliance with the Congress party that governs the upper riparian state.

"The Karnataka government has not released water, yet the Chief Minister has not spoken a single word," he said, stating that Karnataka failed to deliver the mandated 94 TMC of water stipulated by the Cauvery Water Management Authority for the months of July and August.

Highlighting the agrarian distress, the BJP leader said nearly two lakh hectares of farm land remain uncultivated due to water scarcity and demanded immediate compensation for the affected farmers. He added that farmers are currently staging demonstrations in Chennai over the TVK government's unfulfilled electoral promises.

Nagenthran also criticised remarks made in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, stating that while taking training to speak Tamil was unproblematic, prioritising Christianity over the Tamil language alienated the Hindu population and threatened the government's standing.

Taking a swipe at discord within the alliance when asked about leadership projections, Nagenthran noted that while Congress leaders projected Rahul Gandhi, others promoted actor-politician Vijay, reflecting deep disunity and internal friction within the opposition ranks.