ERODE: Farmers benefiting from the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) canal appealed to the state government to start modernisation works on May 1 as per the court order.
KV Ponnaiyan, secretary of the Lower Bhavani Ayakkattu Land Owners Association, said, “The canal was constructed more than 70 years but has not been modernized yet. About 15 years ago there was a demand among farmers to modernize it. In 2010, the DMK government set up a committee headed by hydrologist Mohanakrishnan to study the feasibility of modernising the canal and seek farmers’ views."
The committee’s report said that the canal should be modernized. "That is what we have been emphasizing. Breaches occur every time the water is opened in the canal. This wastes water. Water is also stopped for several days to repair the breach. Due to this, farmers are affected by not getting water at the right time.”
S Periyasamy, president of the Lower Bhavani Ayakkattu Land Owners Association said, “The government proposed a canal reconstruction project in 2020 and allotted `709 crore. But the project has not started due to disagreements among farmers. We filed a case in the High Court demanding the execution of the scheme. After hearing both sides, the HC recently directed the government to start works from May 1.”
Sources from the water resources department said, “The project is funded by NABARD Bank’s NABARD Infrastructure Development Agency. It is being implemented through the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Conservation and Rivers Restoration Corporation. Necessary steps are being taken to get the cooperation of the farmers and proceed with the work quickly.”
Kannan, an executive engineer of LBP, said, “The release of water for irrigation in the LBP canal will be stopped from April 30 and we are going to start the LBP canal reconstruction work from May 1.”