The apprehensions of farmers in the district came true on Friday as the check dam built across the Palar in Andhra Pradesh brimmed with water following heavy rainfall in the last two days. Only a few weeks ago, Andhra Pradesh government completed work on raising the height of this check dam by 12 feet. It is located at Perumpallam in Chittoor district on Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border.
Farmers, particularly those in the upper Palar region, are worried that this would prevent any flow of water into the dry riverbed in Vellore district.
“If the height of the check dam was not raised, the water would have flown into the riverbed in Vellore at least till Vaniyambadi. There was nearly five to six feet of water at the dam on Thursday,” said R. Mullai, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Vivasaigal Sangam.
The Palar enters Vellore district near Pullur panchayat, Vaniyambadi, and runs for 222 km. In Andhra Pradesh, the river runs for 33 km. The water level rose in the check dam on Thursday following rains, a resident of Pullur said.
“The water was almost overflowing in the check dam on Friday evening,” he said.
Mr. Mullai said that although the water level was up, it would not help recharge water table in the villages of Tamil Nadu because of the rocky terrain.
R. Janarthanan, a farmer in Vadakarai, said earlier, at least one to 1.5 ft of water would flow in the Palar following rains. “With the raising of check dam height, the Palar in Tamil Nadu will not get even a single drop of water. Not just agriculture but drinking water supply also will be hugely hit,” he said.
