Fri Jun 20 14:23:49 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article based on the provided text, along with a brief summary:

**Summary:**

Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu announced that over 23,500 houses in the Radhapuram constituency will receive domestic drinking water connections within 45 days. He also defended the state’s law and order situation against BJP allegations, highlighting Tamil Nadu’s peace and economic prosperity. Furthermore, he addressed concerns about insufficient water release from the Petchiparai dam impacting irrigation in the Radhapuram area, noting efforts to mitigate the issue through desilting projects.

**News Article:**

**Radhapuram to Receive Drinking Water Connections; Speaker Defends Tamil Nadu’s Peace Amidst Water Concerns**

**TIRUNELVELI, June 20, 2025** – Over 23,500 households in 11 village panchayats within the Radhapuram Assembly constituency will gain access to domestic drinking water connections within the next 45 days, announced Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu. The announcement was made during a review meeting held in Radhapuram on Friday.

The project, which draws water from the Tamirabharani river, aims to provide potable water to 78 villages, benefiting approximately 78,975 residents. A trial run is expected within a month, followed by the connection rollout.

Speaker Appavu also addressed accusations from the BJP regarding the state’s law and order situation. He strongly refuted these claims, emphasizing Tamil Nadu’s peaceful environment and economic growth. “There is no communal or religious clash in Tamil Nadu in the past four years. No place of worship was vandalised or torched here,” Appavu stated. He highlighted the state’s impressive 9.60% growth rate, job creation (over 2.65 crore jobs in the last four years), and focus on equipping students with employable skills. The Speaker attributed any attempts to disrupt peace to “religious fanatics” spreading rumours and fake information, assuring that these efforts would not succeed and that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin would retain his position in 2026.

Concerns were also raised regarding the inadequate release of water from the Petchiparai dam into the Radhapuram Channel, impacting irrigation for 16,000 acres of land. While the ideal release is 150 cusecs, less than 60 cusecs is being released. Appavu acknowledged the issue and outlined efforts to desilt the channel and associated irrigation tanks to ensure water reaches at least 1,037 acres of cultivable land under 52 irrigation tanks. Manual desilting is also underway in smaller channels across eight village panchayats.

The meeting was attended by village panchayat heads and local body councillors from the Radhapuram constituency.

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