DINDIGUL
Hundreds of farmers in Ammaiyanaickanur and nearby villages thronged Annasamudram tank near Kodai Road on Wednesday condemning revenue officials who suddenly stopped desilting of the tank.
They said the officials should obey the Collector’s order and allow them to deepen the tank, a major irrigation source for thousands of acres in Kodai Road, Mavur, Rajadhanikottai, Ammaiyanaickanur, Jallipatti and Pottichettipatti. Farmers alleged that the officials interrupted desilting work without any reason.
Talking to media persons, Kodai Road Farmers’ Association and Tank Water Users’ Association president C. Velusamy said acute drought had wiped out agricultural activities in the region for the past three years. With no water in the tank, the farmers had spent a total of more than ₹5 crore for sinking bore wells as open wells too dried up.
Now, the tank had shrunk to five acres from 46 acres due to encroachments. In the 1950s, the State government utilised 22 acres of the tank land for developmental activities. About 19 more acres were under encroachment, he alleged.
When the villagers raised the issue with him recently, Collector T.G. Vinay inspected the tank and assured them of all help. But he expressed his inability to desilt it citing paucity of funds. When the farmers wished to desilt it on their own, he granted permission and allowed them to remove alluvial soil.
He also advised the officials of Public Works and Revenue departments to assist the farmers in their mission. The farmers, who planned to remove 30,000 truckloads of soil from the tank to deepen it by eight to 10 feet, started the work four days ago.
“First, we started lifting alluvial soil and later removing clay soil to deepen it. But, revenue officials asked us to stop the work. When we reminded them of the Collector’s permission, they insisted on a written permission from him. We have been working with the support of local lorry operators to transport silt at a concessional rate. Their action would paralyse desilting work,” said Mr. Velusamy.
The issue was taken to the knowledge of the Collector, who assured to consider their demand. Later, the villagers dispersed.
