MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday sought a status report from Sivaganga collector and Public Works Department (PWD) officials on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed to divert water from Vaigai river to Nattar Canal for preventing crop failure in 16 villages in Sivaganga. The litigants P Gandhi and V Ukkirapandiyan are farmers belonging to the Sivaganga district.
They stated in their petition that whenever the water is released from the Vaigai river, which runs through Manamadurai in Sivaganga, it is diverted to Nattar Canal, which connects the irrigation tanks in about 16 villages in the district.
The cultivation of nearly 10,000 acres of agricultural land depends on this water. Since the Vaigai dam reached its maximum capacity last year, farmers of the 16 villages started their agricultural activities believing that water would be released to their irrigation tanks, the litigants stated.
Stating that the crops have now matured and are almost ready for harvest, the farmers said excess water from Vaigai is drained into the sea without being diverted to the Nattar Canal, causing nearly 40% of the crops in the villages to wither due to a lack of water. If the situation continues, the remaining crops will also fail, they added. A Bench of justices D Krishnakumar and R Vijayakumar issued a notice and sought a status report from the authorities concerned. The case was adjourned to January 9.