COIMBATORE: Farmers under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) irrigation areas have urged the state government to allocate funds for the restoration and dredging of irrigation water channels, stating that delays could lead to significant wastage of water at a time when the southwest monsoon has failed.
A total of 229 works have been identified for dredging the canals, and the 150 water users associations under the project have estimated the cost of these works at Rs 14.98 crore. About 3.80 lakh acres of agricultural land in Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode districts are irrigated under PAP, through channels fed by the Thirumoorthy and Aliyar dams.
From Thirumoorthy Dam, up to 1.90 lakh acres get water in two zones every year, with each zone covering approximately 95,000 acres. This year, lands under Zone 2 and Zone 3 are scheduled to receive water from the dam. In addition, around 25,000 acres are irrigated annually from Aliyar Dam under the PAP.
Farmers stressed that the canals must be dredged and cleaned of encroaching vegetation at least once a year to ensure water reaches every field.
The water users associations, 134 under the Thirumoorthy Dam and 16 under the Aliyar Dam, lack adequate financial resources and depend entirely on state government funding.
"Under the AIADMK regime, the government carried out these works under the Kudimaramathu scheme. For the first four years of the previous DMK government, neither was funds allocated nor cleaning work undertaken. After our repeated requests, the government sanctioned Rs 10 crore last year for canal cleaning," said Medical K Paramasivam, project committee chairman of the Thirumoorthy Reservoir Project Committee.
He added that the associations had met three TVK ministers - the finance minister, water resources minister and health minister (who is the in charge of Tiruppur district) - who assured immediate fund allocation. "Despite the assurances, the funds have not been released so far. Since the monsoon has failed, the canals must be cleaned without any further delay so that water from the dams can reach the fields without any wastage," he said.
An official from the water resources department said the proposal is currently pending with the finance department. "The file is with the finance ministry. We expect it to be sanctioned soon for the work," he said.
