Farmers around Batlagundu are jubilant and have taken up cultivation of paddy and banana in full swing following the release of water from Manjalar dam.
Right from Devadhanapatti check dam, there are a number of tanks including Sengulam, Mathuvarkulam, Veerankulam, Karungulam, Vedankulam and Periyakanmoi.
Situated 23 km from the dam, Kunnuvarayankottai tank, one of the biggest tanks in Manjalar basin, has been receiving water this year. According to farmers in the area, water has reached the tank after almost a decade.
“It is the 9th tank from the dam and is located towards the tail end. Often water from the dam will not be sufficient to fill the tanks upstream. However, this year, due to copious rain and good storage level in the dam, the water has reached tail-end tanks,” said S. Shanmugam, a local farmer.
“As the forecast for rain and storage in Manjalar were positive, we took up preparation activities much earlier. We ploughed the land and sowed the seeds on time. The arrival of water has also been on time and now the paddy and banana saplings have enough water. We hope to make a good harvest,” he added.
A quantum of 60 cusecs has been released for old ayacut areas including Kunnuvarayankottai tank. And 40 cusecs has been released for the new ayacut areas. A total of 5,260 acres of land is under irrigation under the old ayacut areas.
“However, the inflow to the dam has reduced as there has been no rain in the Western Ghats since the past one week. If the northeast monsoon continues, the quantum can be maintained. Right now 455 mcft is the storage level in the dam. Depending on rain, we may release water in turns for the tanks upstream and downstream,” said R. Kannan, Assistant Engineer, Manjalar.
