Thanjavur: Mayiladuthurai MP R K Bharathi Mohan has spent a sizable portion of his funds under Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for irrigation purposes and drinking water schemes. He has also spent a considerable share of the fund for providing amenities in schools and colleges.The AIADMK MP was seen to have spent 96.56% of his MP fund in the last 5 years. One of the projects has helped farmers to take up cultivation on 1.50 lakh acres by securing irrigation water from Veera Cholan river, Puthu Manniyaru river and Manjeri canal taking course from the Cauvery at Manjeri village at Kumbakonam. These rivers flow in Thanjavur as well as Nagapattinam districts.Agriculture land forms a major part of Mayiladuthurai constituency which has portions of Thanjavur as well as Nagapattinam districts. Bharathi Mohan spent Rs 1.10 crore to convert worn-out manual shutters into automated ones. Earlier, it required labourers to lift the shutters manually to release water. He allotted Rs 3.18 crore to schools and colleges for furniture, constructing libraries and providing other necessities. For drinking water schemes Rs 2.60 crore was spent.Though the constituency falls in the delta region, people from many rural pockets are forced to roam in search of drinking water as the groundwater table has plunged due to drought during 2016. Rasalan, a farmer from Perunthottam village in Sirkazhi union in Nagapattinam district said, “Due to severe drought during 2016, we struggled to get drinking water, particularly in summer. Various steps taken by the MP to supply drinking water have helped us a lot”, the farmer said.This apart, about Rs 4 crore has been spent for establishing high mast lights at 118 spots including bus stands and rural areas at vantage points like temples and common playgrounds. Apart from the MPLADS fund, Mohan has helped to lay new roads and develop the existing rural roads for about 46.93 kilometres at an estimated Rs 55.12 crore under the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme.

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