Tiruppur farmers hope to derive utility of Athikadavu - Avinashi scheme from August

: Farmers in Tiruppur district benefitting from the Athikadavu -Avinashi scheme are hoping to rejuvenate agricultural activities in drought-prone parts after the South-West monsoon.

The successful trial runs under way has generated optimism to carry out cultivation of turmeric, onion, sugarcane, vegetables and revive the withering coconut farms.

PWD officials are understood to have assured farmers that the scheme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during June-July. It may take one more month for the trial runs to get completed, to rule out leakages and breakages of pipelines, to water bodies.

In Tiruppur district, the scheme envisages recharging of 428 water bodies and bringing 8,151.71 acres under cultivation.

“We expect to derive utility of the scheme by August when groundwater will be recharged through supplies to the water bodies through pipelines of varying sizes,” ‘Athikadavu’ Sampath, a member of the Avinashi Athikadavu Poratta Kuzhu Kootamaippu, said.

The water table has gone below 1,000 feet and the recharge of ground water will also help the village panchayats to augment drinking water supplies, according to officials.

The farmers have urged the PWD to include several hundreds of water bodies that have been left out of enumeration for the scheme. The elected representatives are understood to have promised the farmers that the left-out water bodies will be added under the second phase of the scheme in future.

Accompanied by senior officials, Minister for Information and Publicity M. P. Saminathan took stock of the impact of the trial run at Kunnathur Kulam and Athiyur Kulam in Uthukuli Union; Merkupadhi kulam in Tiruppur Panchayat Union, and a couple of pumping stations in Nambiyur and Imampoondi panchayat unions in Erode district.

The trial run has been in progress since February, according to officials.