A group of villagers, including elderly women, from T. Arasapatti in Tirumangalam taluk petitioned the Collector’s office here on Monday demanding action against widespread encroachment of Periya Kanmoi (big tank).
They said more than 35 families from the village had encroached more than 100 acres of tank under the maintenance of Public Works Department. “They mainly use the encroached land to cultivate different types of rain-fed crops,” said K. Sundarapandian, one of the petitioners. He said the Periya Kanmoi and Chinna Kanmoi benefited T. Arasapatti and nearby Veera Perumalpuram by meeting the irrigation needs, besides sustaining the groundwater table.
Though the tank was not connected to any irrigation system, it formed part of a network of tanks that received monsoon rain from Ezhumalai hills. “Though the tank did not receive water during last monsoon, the year before that we did get water,” C. Ganesan, another petitioner, said.
Importantly, the tank bed was the main pasture ground for cattle when it was dry.
Mr. Sundarapandian claimed that what started as encroachment near the tank bund by those owning land in the vicinity became widespread with more than two-third of the kanmoi under encroachment now. “The encroachers have borewells for irrigation and are not dependent on the tank . Hence, they do not allow water to be stored and open the outlets at their will,” he alleged.
Moreover, Mr. Ganesan said that since the cattle had no place to graze, they entered agricultural lands, resulting in frequent quarrels among villagers.
Stating that no action was taken by officials despite petitioning them at least twice, the villagers called for swift action without further delay.
