TIRUPPUR: The district police detained more than 300 farmers who had set out from Kangeyam towards Pollachi to besiege the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) superintendent engineer's office. Their demand was for balanced water sharing within the PAP system and additional water allocation for tail-end areas. Around 15 people were injured, including both police personnel and farmers.
Sources said that under the PAP, 4.25 lakh acres of agricultural land in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts receive irrigation facilities. Through the Thirumurthy Dam, about 3.77 lakh acres of agricultural land are irrigated under PAP. Of this, 12,000 acres of farmlands in the Kangeyam and Vellakovil areas, which are at the tail-end of PAP, are irrigated through the Vellakovil branch canal.
More than 300 farmers from Kangeyam and Vellakovil areas left for Pollachi with their cattle on Tuesday, claiming they were not receiving enough water for the tail-end areas and insisting on balanced water sharing in PAP. They had planned to travel in vehicles and besiege the PAP's SE office in Pollachi.
Farmers gathered in Bagavathipalayam near Kangeyam on the Coimbatore-Chidambaram National Highway. Police were deployed there in advance.
Subsequently, the police stopped the farmers attempting to proceed towards Pollachi from this location. The disgruntled farmers defied the police and moved onto the road, leading to a pushback between the police and farmers.
The protest caused traffic disruption on the National Highway, prompting the police to arrest the farmers. After a long struggle, the police secured the farmers and detained them in a private hall near Udhiyur.
The police also struggled to manage the cattle brought along by the farmers. Additionally, seven people, including three women, from the farmers' side, and six from the police side, were injured. They were taken to the hospital.
P Velusamy, President of the PAP Vellakovil Branch Canal Water Conservation Movement and Coordinator of the protest, said, "Our protest is justified. Balanced water distribution should be maintained in PAP. The water supply to the tail-end should be increased to 160 cusecs instead of 130 cusecs."
Kangeyam DSP M Mayavan said, "Farmers attacked the police during the protest and unleashed their cattle on us. Several officers were injured in this. Additionally, traffic was disrupted. Therefore, a case will be registered against the farmers after a proper investigation."
The farmers were released by the police at around 9 pm on Tuesday. When the TNIE tried to contact Superintendent Engineer of PAP Karthikeyan, in this regard, he did not respond to the call.