5 months ago
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While farmers successful Erode territory hold their crook for constricted h2o proviso during notified irrigation periods, a fewer farmers person reportedly been drafting respective lakh litres of h2o each time from the Bhavanisagar Dam by installing 2 3 HP motors successful the h2o dispersed area. Farmers’ associations person expressed daze implicit the alleged preferential entree and raised concerns implicit lax enforcement and monitoring by the authorities.
The Bhavanisagar Dam, besides known arsenic the Lower Bhavani Dam, built crossed the River Bhavani, is the archetypal large irrigation task executed successful the State aft Independence (1948–1955). It is the second-largest reservoir successful Tamil Nadu, with a capableness of 928 cardinal cubic metres. The reservoir dispersed country astatine afloat reservoir level (105 ft) is 78.76 sq. km. Water from the dam is supplied to 3 ayacut systems — the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) Canal, which irrigates 2.07 lakh acres successful 3 districts; the Kalingarayan Canal, covering 15,743 acres; and the Thadapalli and Arakkankottai channels, which irrigate 24,504 acres.
‘Unauthorised extraction’
According to locals, a fewer farmers owning betwixt 50 and 150 acres of onshore adjacent Kanrayanmokkai colony successful Periyakallipatti panchayat of Bhavanisagar artifact person been illegally drafting h2o straight from the reservoir dispersed area. They person reportedly installed motors and pump h2o done pipelines to their farmlands. Local residents assertion that specified unauthorised extraction has been continuing for respective years utilizing energy connections obtained for patta lands. Banana and mango are predominantly cultivated successful these fields, which person a continuous h2o supply. The motors are mounted connected trolleys, enabling them to beryllium shifted arsenic the h2o level successful the reservoir recedes.
Locals further allege that officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD), the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO), and different acrophobic departments are alert of the amerciable activity, which has been continuing for years.
Condemning the practice, T. Subbu, territory caput of the Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam, demanded strict enactment and effectual monitoring to permanently halt the amerciable drawal of h2o by a fewer farmers. “The officials acrophobic should enactment without delay,” helium said.
Members of assorted farmers’ associations pointed retired that amerciable extraction of h2o from rivers and h2o bodies is rampant crossed the territory and urged the territory medication to instrumentality the Madras High Court bid issued successful October 2021. The tribunal had directed the authorities to behaviour periodic inspections, forestall amerciable extraction of water, and registry transgression cases against violators.
When contacted, a elder WRD technologist told The Hindu that monitoring was being carried retired regularly to cheque amerciable extraction and that enactment was taken against offenders whenever violations were detected.
On Friday (January 2, 2025), astatine noon, the h2o level successful the Bhavanisagar Dam stood astatine 97.35 ft, with retention astatine 26.70 tmc ft against the full capableness of 32.80 tmc ft. The inflow was 5,983 cusecs, portion the full discharge was 800 cusecs.
