Villupuram MP urges Puducherry govt to initiate action against proposed Mekedatu dam

Ravikumar detailed UT's dependence on Cauvery river for agriculture and how the dam will pose an obstacle for providing water to the farmers of the Karaikal region.
River Cauvery (Photo | Express)
River Cauvery (Photo | Express)

PUDUCHERRY: Villupuram Lok Sabha member D Ravikumar has urged the Puducherry government to initiate political and legal action against the proposed Mekedatu dam across Cauvery river by the Karnataka government to protect the rights of farmers in the UT. 

In a memorandum submitted to the PWD minister K Lakshminarayanan on Tuesday, Ravikumar said that Puducherry government should also convene an all-party meeting, on the lines of TN government, and unanimously adopt a resolution urging the central government to not accord any permission to Karnataka to construct the dam. Ravikumar is a member in the parliamentary consultative committee on agriculture. 

He further detailed the dependence of the UT on Cauvery water for agriculture and how the dam will pose an obstacle for providing water in the Karaikal area that is located at the tail-end of Cauvery delta. 

“Due to the unique geographical environment of Puducherry, it is not conducive to construct any water storage reservoir here. Agriculture here is heavily dependent on the northeast monsoon and the Cauvery water. In addition, seawater has infiltrated the entire coastal area and groundwater has become saline.  So the farmers of Pondicherry state depend only on Cauvery water,” he said.

The Supreme Court in its final judgment also recognized the right of Puducherry farmers to cultivate crops in two seasons, given the unique geographical location of the UT in a total of 42,533 acres. The arbitral tribunal upheld the first crop of  Kuruvai in 27,145 acres and the second cro of Thaladi in 15,388 acres. The apex court also ruled that Puducherry should get the allotted 7 TMC of water through the seven tributaries of Cauvery in Tamil Nadu namely Nandalaru, Nattaru, Vanji river, Nularu, Arasalaru, Thirumalairajan river and Pravidayan river.

Currently, the Karnataka government is trying to build the dam, which will affect the water supply to Tamil Nadu and eventually to Puducherry.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com