Wed Mar 19 17:31:29 UTC 2025: ## DMK MP Urges Faster Implementation of South India River Linking Projects
**New Delhi, March 20, 2025** – DMK MP T.R. Baalu criticized the slow pace of inter-state river-linking projects in peninsular India, urging the central government to prioritize these initiatives. While acknowledging the Ken-Betwa project’s progress, Baalu highlighted the lack of similar momentum for connecting the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Pennar, and Kaveri rivers. He argued that these projects are crucial for addressing water scarcity in southern India and offer significant economic benefits, including enhanced cargo movement and power generation. Baalu called for the swift completion of these projects, emphasizing their importance over other large-scale infrastructure projects like the bullet train.
Congress MP Rahul Kaswan echoed these concerns, contrasting the past investment in large irrigation projects under previous Congress governments with the apparent lack of similar initiatives in the last decade. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, however, praised the Ken-Betwa project, highlighting its benefits for irrigation in Bundelkhand. He also questioned the progress of Opposition-ruled states in providing clean drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
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