Daily Times

Sir: It is disturbing to note that Tamil Nadu in India has been severely hit by acute drought caused by the monsoon failure. The fact is that proper attention is not being given to the drought situation prevailing in many parts of Tamil Nadu.

In our society, people and activities at higher strata are given attention. I would like to draw the attention of the authorities towards the actual situation prevalent in Tamil Nadu’s southern districts like Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari. And despite the fact that the Tamiraparani [this river is brimming with water all the time] is the lifeline of these areas, the people hailing from these areas are the worst affected due to the current drought.

Moreover, the areas like Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Marthandam and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, India have long been crying for attention on the various fronts like industry and employment. As the first step, sincere steps are needed to stop plundering (in terms of sand mining) the rivers like the Tamiraparani because such irresponsible and harmful activities will result in the doomsday like monsoon failure. As a person coming from such areas, I am concerned about these happenings.

Besides this, administrative failure and lethargic attitude are adding to the issues facing the people. In fact we have great technology in hand. The advanced technology should be used towards troubleshooting the problems of the people.

A word of comfort or advice is the key — to begin with. Right now I request the authorities to come to the rescue of the people in Tamil Nadu’s southern districts like Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari and take action on mitigating the looming agrarian crisis apart from water shortage — the sooner the better.

Above all, the media should play a key role in a situation of crisis that may occur anywhere in the world.

P SENTHIL SARAVANA DURAI

Mumbai, India

Published in Daily Times, July 28^th , 2017.