TIRUPPUR: A recent Government Order on water release from Thirumurthy Dam to a lake, obtained by the water resources department (WRD) reportedly without the consent of the PAP Project Committee, has sparked strong opposition from PAP farmers. On Friday, farmers appealed to the district administration and urged officials not to send any recommendations to the government regarding water release in the coming days without consulting the committee.
The state government recently issued a G.O. to release water from the Thirumurthy Dam for three days, from Thursday to Saturday, for the drinking water needs of the public and livestock, not exceeding 20 mcft, to Poosarinaicken Lake near Udumalaipet.
It is alleged that the WRD took this decision without consulting the PAP Project Committee or obtaining its consent.
The project committee and ayacut farmers of PAP strongly opposed the move. On Thursday, the administrators of the planning committee and farmers besieged the office of the PAP superintending engineer in Pollachi, insisting that water should not be released to Poosarinaicken Lake.
However, it is alleged that despite opposition, the WRD released water from the dam on Thursday night.
Against this backdrop, on Friday, several hundreds of ayacut farmers and administrators of the project committee met District Collector Manish Narnaware at the collectorate, led by the committee’s chairman Medical K Paramasivam.
Paramasivam said, "We informed the district collector that obtaining the G.O. to release water to Poosarinaicken Lake without consulting the project committee was a wrong step. We also urged that officials should not send any recommendations to the government regarding the release of water from the dam without consulting the committee. Furthermore, the collector accepted our requests as well."
He also noted that Poosainaiken Lake is not part of the PAP ayacut and that there is a court order stating that water should be provided only when there is a surplus.
A senior WRD official said, "Following the requests from the project committee and farmers, the collector ordered the officials to stop the water that was released to the lake, and it was stopped. Water needs to be provided to the PAP's first zone until July 16. After that, water will be released to that lake."
"There is a norm that the project committee be consulted regarding the release of water. However, the WRD took this decision keeping in mind the drinking water needs of the public dependent on the lake. The current issues have been resolved through negotiations," the official added.
PAP tail-end farmers also met the district collector separately. "Supplying water to the lake is an issue involving only 20 mcft. The collector has organised a consultative meeting for that purpose. But there has been a shortage of 1,000 mcft in tail-end areas for the last six years. We appealed to the collector to discuss it," said P Velusamy, president of PAP Vellakoil Branch Canal Water Conservation Movement.
The district administration plans to soon hold a consultative meeting, chaired by the district’s minister in-charge, KG Arunraj, to discuss issues related to PAP and find solutions, sources said.
