Farmers upbeat in Cumbum Valley

Festivities follow the Mullaperiyar dam’s level reaching 142 feet

Women perform ‘aarathi’ to the Penniquick statue at his memorial at Lower Camp near Gudalur in Theni district on Friday. Photo: G. Karthikeyan

With water level in the Mullaperiyar dam touching 142 feet as the culmination of a historic legal struggle, farmers in the Cumbum Valley burst into celebrations on Friday.

Uthamapalayam, Cumbum and Gudalur wore a festive look as lawyers, commoners and government officials joined the farmers in celebrating the event in a grand manner.

Lawyers of Uthamapalayam kick-started the festivities with a ‘victory march’ from the local court to the PWD office. They garlanded the statue of British engineer Pennycuick, responsible for constructing the reservoir to save farmers in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu from starvation.

Uthamapalayam Bar Association president Basheer and Chinnamanur Municipality standing counsel V.T. Singaravelan described it as a victory for a 35-year-long battle.

The celebrations touched a peak in Cumbum where people burst crackers on the highway.

The PWD engineers too joined them. Chief Engineer V. Pande planted a sapling at the Pennycuick’s memorial and garlanded his statue.

Engineers distributed sweets to farmers who took part in the celebration, in which executive engineers and other officials from Madurai and Theni districts also took part.

The memorial, decorated with festoons and colourful lights since last night, near the Lower Camp was the cynosure of all eyes.

In the evening, a team of AIADMK parytmen, led by Theni MP R. Parthiban and former MP S.P.M. Syed Khan, garlanded the statue and distributed sweets.

Representatives of farmers’ associations used this occasion to thank political leaders, public and members of various organisations who extended support for raising the level to 142 feet.

They also appealed to the people of Kerala to extend their support to restore the full level of 152 feet as it would be mutually beneficial.

A win-win situation

While the authorities have now begun discharging the excess inflows from the Mullaperiyar dam in a bid to maintain the level just below the 142-foot mark, farmers’ representatives reasoned that it would be a win-win situation for people of both States. The ‘export of food items’ to Kerala would go up once agriculture and livestock rearing increased in five southern districts of Tamil Nadu with better water availability, they added.