Delta farmers remember Karikala Cholan on Uzhavar Day

TIRUCHY: Delta region farmers paid their respects to Karikala Cholan, who erected the Kallanai and garlanded his statue at the dam on Wednesday. They also demanded the state government commemorate it as a government event.

Members of the Cauvery Right Retrieval Committee (CRRC) and several farmers' associations assembled at the Kallanai on Wednesday to express gratitude to King Karikala Cholan as Kallanai is an integral key to cultivation in the delta region.

"We have commemorated Karikala Cholan, the greatest among the great Chola kings, on the Uzhavar day for the past five years. On this day, we venerate Karikala Chola, Sir Arthur Cotton and Mother Cauvery for making Delta into fertile land," said P Maniarasan, the coordinator of the CRRC.

He also appealed to the state government to dedicate Uzhavar Day, the second day of Pongal, to Karikala Cholan and celebrate it as a government event.

He also appealed to the union government not to accept the recommendations of Cauvery Water Management Authorities Chairman Saumitra Kumar Haldar on the construction of the Mekedatu dam, which would affect the farmers from Tamil Nadu.

He also requested the Centre to link the Godavari and Cauvery, which would benefit Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.