Paddy farmers in the Chittur region of Palakkad district, knows as the traditional rice bowl of the State, are a worried lot. The South-West monsoon has been scanty in the catchment areas of Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) and this is likely to affect the second-season cultivation in the area.
If the North-West Monsoon too fails the PAP region, it will be difficult for the farmers to ensure a bumper harvest. According to Irrigation Department officials, the rivulets and streams that form a part of the Parambikulam project area have witnessed a 30 per cent reduction in the total rainfall during the South-West Monsoon in comparison with the rainfall in the previous years.
The lack of rains will affect flow in the Chittur and Gayathri rivers, the major tributaries of Bharthapuzha. It will also have an adverse impact on the flow in Chalakudy River, which irrigates a sizeable part of Thrissur district. According to farmer-leader Muthalamthode Mani, the scanty rainfall would affect the release of PAP water to Coimbatore and Tirupur districts of Tamil Nadu as per the inter-state river water sharing accord. As per the existing procedure, Tamil Nadu stores PAP water in Aliyar dam and releases a portion of it for irrigation in Chittur taluk through Chittur River.
Officials have indicated that no such sharing will happen if North West Monsoon too fails the region. “Tamil Nadu has released water for us during the first-season cultivation period because of the unexpected summer rains that filled the Aliyar dam. Now Aliyar has a storage of 1,046 feet water but that will not be sufficient for irrigation of Tirupur and Coimbatore districts,” Mr Mani said.
The Parambikulam reservoir has a storage of 1,046 feet at present and it remains much below last year’s storage level. There is an alarming depletion in water levels at Peruvaripallam and Thoonakadavu reservoirs of PAP. The Sholayar dam also remains far low in the storage levels.
