Surplus water going waste: farmers

Urgent steps must be taken to ensure that surplus water released from Mettur dam is utilised properly by filling up all irrigation tanks through releasing water into all canals, said farmers at the grievance day meeting here on Friday.

Collector K. Rajamani chaired the meeting. The farmers accused the field officers of not completing work on dredging waterbodies, “the reason why the dam water did not reach tail-end areas.” Implementation of the long-pending Cauvery - Vaigai - Gundaru ,and Mettur-Sarabangi river linking schemes would hugely benefit farmers in central and southern districts of the State, besides preventing precious water from getting drained into the sea, they said.

Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam district secretary Ayilai Siva. Suriyan said several tanks were unable to hold the full capacity of water owing to indiscriminate growth of weeds.

Special attention must be paid to conserve water in water bodies by carrying out dredging works on time. Bed regulators should be established at chosen spots on Cauvery and Coleroon rivers to protect groundwater table, he said.

M.P. Chinnadurai of the same forum said farmers had been urging the authorities to carry out dredging in waterbodies in March - April itself.

Koundampatti R. Subramanian, deputy secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, said Tamil Nadu was receiving only excess water from Karnataka. Because of encroachments in many tanks, water could not be stored to their full capacity. Check dams must be constructed to store water, he said.

P. Vishwanathan of Tamizhaga Eeri Aatru Paasana Vivasayigal Sangam said water was yet to be released into several tanks though PWD officials claimed that water had been released into 75 tanks and channels.

Puliyur A. Nagarajan, state president of the farmers’ wing of Tamil Maanila Congress, wanted the State government to construct bed regulators and check dams on Cauvery and Coleroon rivers to prevent water from getting drained into the sea.

Collector K. Rajamani asked PWD officials to release water into all irrigation channels. He instructed revenue officials to ensure that water reached the tail-end areas. Mr. Rajamani said kudimaramathu works had been suspended due to release of water. The district administration would bring to the attention of the State government the need to implement river linking projects, he said.

Earlier, a group of farmers staged a protest by squatting on the floor, accusing that kudimaramathu works were not executed properly.

Walkout in Thanjavur

A section of farmers’ representatives staged a walkout from the grievance day meeting, alleging that Mettut water was yet to reach tail end areas in Orathanadu, Pattukottai and Peravoorani areas as the irrigation canals were not dredged.

The farmers, led by Kakkarai Sukumaran, vice-president of the Federation of Farmers’ Associations of Tamil Nadu, expressed disappointment over the failure of the authorities to desilt the irrigation canals in the tail end of the Grand Anicut Canal despite repeated pleas.

Another section of farmers led by Swamimalai Vimalnathan, secretary, Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, also staged a walkout expressing dismay over the meagre hike in the minimum support price for paddy, sugarcane and cotton and the State government’s alleged apathy towards opening more direct purchase centres to procure paddy from farmers.

Source