TIRUCHY: As intense summer heat and parched irrigation canals take hold in Tiruchy, farmers have urged authorities to release water into key canals like Uyyakondan and Kattalai Mettu Vaickal to meet drinking water needs and sustain agriculture until May.
A large number of farmers have cultivated summer paddy on around 15,000 acres this year. Additionally, hundreds of farmers have raised cash crops like banana, sugarcane, pulses, oilseeds, betel vine, vegetables and flowers in Karur and Tiruchy.
Though they are using borewell pump sets to irrigate crops, farmers say there should be some flow in the Cauvery and in the 17 irrigation canals that draw water from the Mayanur and Mukkombu barrages to help sustain the groundwater level.
V Ayyavu, a farmer from Muthalaipatti in Tiruchy, said he cultivates jasmine and roses on his one-and-a-half-acre land with borewell water due to no flow in the Uyyakondan and High Level Kattalai Channel.
“Farmers from Muthalaipatti, Posampatti, Pothavur, Neithalur Colony and a few other villages have raised various flower crops on around 1,000 acres and are completely reliant on borewells, where the water level has already gone below 10 feet due to the unavailability of water canals. This may deplete further. If water is released into the High Level Kattalai Channel for at least 20 days, we can manage till June 12,” Ayyavu said.
V Kalaiselvan, a banana farmer from Thiruvalarsolai, told TNIE that banana cultivation requires a steady supply of water. However, there has been no flow in the Mettu Vaikkal, a source of irrigation water originating from Mukkombu.
“The summer temperature in the district has intensified to the point where people are unable to step outside. So, we request the officials to release water from Mettur for at least three weeks,” he added.
Since January 28, water has not been released into irrigation canals, causing groundwater levels in rural areas to drop. This has led to severe drinking water shortage to farmers and livestock, Ayilai Sivasuriyan, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam (CPIM-affiliated) said.
“After the closure of Mettur Dam on January 28 for the delta irrigation, it has been customary to release 1,000 to 3,000 cusecs of water into Cauvery from Mettur Dam which is usually supplied either continuously or on a rotational basis to the 17 irrigation canals.
However, in recent years, this practice has not been followed. Currently, the 1,000 cubic feet of water released into Cauvery from Mettur is being diverted for lift irrigation projects in Namakkal district and for various combined drinking water schemes.
So, no water is reaching Mayanur, leaving farmers from Karur and Tiruchy into the lurch. Therefore, water should be released from Mettur till May end,” he said.
Previously, even when Mettur’s water level was below 40 feet, water was being released during summer. Now, despite the current water storage being above 80 feet, authorities are citing various reasons for not releasing water, said Vayalur N Rajendran, state treasurer of the farmers’ wing of Tamil Manila Congress.
“When we approached officials from the Water Resource Department, they said water can only be released if there is some storage in Mayanur Barrage. So, we request the district administration to highlight the issue to the state government’s notice to release water into Cauvery from Mettur Reservoir. It is essential to improve groundwater resources,” he added.