It was called Kudimaramathu – when farmers would take over the desilting of water channels that fed their fields. Over the years, desilting of channels gradually slipped out of the hands of the farmers.
On Saturday, six panchayats came together to take over that lost tradition of ‘Kudimaramathu’, when each panchayat stepped in to desilt the two main canals of Kelavarapalli Dam.
“The idea was mooted during the subdivision level agriculture grievances day meeting in Hosur,” says Sub-Collector Senthil Raj, who had organised the inter-departmental coordination and brought on board the civil society of Hosur.
The Irrigation Channel presidents of Hosur (Hosur has six irrigation channels headed by representatives) had flayed the poor state of the canals of Kelavarapalli watershed area. The encroachments on channels and siltation of channels had blocked the flow of water from Kelavarapalli dam to the last ayacut.
Kelavarapalli Dam has a 25.5 km long left canal and 21.9 km long right main canal. The two canals irrigate over 8,000 acres of land and are spread over nine village panchayats, three of which are in Hosur and six in Shoolagiri.
In Hosur, the canals irrigate the panchayats of Thorappalli, Kelavarapalli and Muthaali; and in Shoolagiri, the canals irrigate the panchayats of Koneripalli, Kaamanthotti, Perandapalli, Maragandapalli, Kaanaletti, and Aalur.
It was decided then that not just the farmers, even residents of panchayats that stand to gain from groundwater recharge, if the water channels were revived through desilting, says Mr. Raj. “We only helped in coordination. The effort was entirely by the panchayats,” he says.
Using an entire workforce of 750 workers under MNREGA, each panchayat was given the responsibility of fetching 200 volunteers from the villages to desilt their ayacut areas.
On Saturday, farmers and the residents of the panchayats pooled in their collective labour to desilt the channels that once functioned as the lifeline of their fields.
Civil society of Hosur pitched in their might in ways possible.
The Hosur Civil Engineers’ Association lent their engineers and two earthmovers to desilt 4 km of canal in Kaamanthotty; People Society of Hosur served refreshments to workers in Perandapalli; and Aaradhana , a local NGO brought NCC students. Similarly, NCC students from Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, PMC College and Government Polytechnic College of Hosur took part in the desilting works.
This initiative will get a push next week, when the damaged bunds will be taken up for repair, and encroachments along channels will be cleared.
