Farmers of Arittapatti near Melur have sought a branch channel for irrigating their agricultural fields.
In a petition submitted to Collector L. Subramamian here on Monday, the farmers stated that the 44 branch channel from Kidaripatti irrigated 700 acres of land in their village. However, seven tanks had to be filled up on the six-km course before the channel reached their village in the tail-end. “For the past five years, we have not received water from the channel. This year, it has been 43 days since water release began, but we are yet to get even a single drop of water,” said A. Mohan, a farmer.
There were nearly 5,000 persons dependent on farming in the village and nearly 700 acres of farmland had been affected owing to non-availability of water. Hence, a branch channel must be constructed from 10th Periyar channel which passed through their neighbourhood to facilitate irrigation of agricultural fields in not only Arittapatti but also Narasingampatti, Meenakshipuram, Kallampatti and Therkutheru, the petition added.