Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, in what was CM Vijay’s first visit to the neighbouring state. According to the Tamil Nadu Government, the two Chief Ministers discussed crucial issues pertaining to water resources: linking of the Godavari and Cauvery rivers, the release of Krishna River water from Andhra to cater for Chennai’s drinking water requirements.

Speaking to his Andhra counterpart, Chief Minister Vijay highlighted that Tamil Nadu is a state which is naturally deficient in surface water resources and that it is dependent on neighbouring states for 30 per cent of its water requirements. Citing this, he added that the Godavari-Cauvery river linking project offers a significant opportunity for both states to increase water availability for their people.

Further, Vijay went on to highlight that this river linking project would go on to benefit all southern Indian states, support agriculture and strengthen drinking water security. Mentioning that he had already requested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare this as a project of national importance, Chief Minister Vijay requested his Andhra counterpart to take forward the proposal.