Hundreds of farmers who get water from the Thirumoorthy Reservoir staged a protest at the office of the Superintending Engineer, Parambikulam Aliyar Project, Pollachi, on Tuesday, condemning the release of water to Kerala.
The farmers said the water the State Government had agreed to release to Kerala was the water the government should have released to them in the second turn. The government had agreed to release two turns water but had released only a turn water thus far.
The Public Works Department’s Water Resource Organisation channels water from the Parambikulam Reservoir to the Thirumoorthy Reservoir through the Contour Canal, to help agriculture on nearly 3.77 lakh acres.
At a time when the farmers were demanding the second turn of water, the Tamil Nadu Government cowed down to the threat from the Kerala Government that it would release water from the Siruvani Reservoir if the former did not release water from the Aliyar Reservoir.
The Tamil Nadu Government had released 5.5 thousand million cubic feet (tmc) of the 7.25 tmc it ought to release to Kerala for ten months a year, from July to April. It had to release only 1.75 tmc and had time till April to do so.
The farmers’ association leader ‘Medical’ Paramasivam said to release the remaining 1.75 tmc water, the Tamil Nadu Government had released 300 tmc from the Parambikulam Reservoir to the Aliyar Reservoir and from there released 450 cusecs (cubic feet per second) through Manakadavu.
And that too till March 15.
The move was unacceptable to the farmers as it compromised their interest. The government must immediately stop the release of water. The farmers would continue the protest until the government released the second turn water.
The Water Resource Organisation had reportedly told the farmers that they could only implement the State Government’s decision and they were not in a position to decide how much water to release to Kerala. Nevertheless, they would convey the farmers’ apprehension to the government.
