TIRUPPUR: While farmers in the tail-end areas have been urging for the release of 3,000 cusecs of water from the Amaravathi Dam for drinking needs, farmers from the head-end demand that water release does not exceed 1,000 cusecs in accordance with the government order.
Water was released from the Amaravathi Dam, located in Udumalaipet in Tiruppur district, on Sunday to meet the drinking water needs of Tiruppur and Karur districts. Earlier, a petition was filed on behalf of tail-end farmers before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, seeking the release of water to meet drinking water needs. Subsequently, the court made recommendations to release the water.
About 1,000 cusecs of water has been released from the dam into Amaravathi River. However, farmers from the tail-end areas and Karur district are urging to release 3,000 cusecs of water. Protests were held on Tuesday at three locations along the border of Tiruppur and Karur districts to press for this demand. “Water will reach the tail-end areas only if 3,000 cusecs of water is released,” tail-end farmers said.
At the same time, farmers at the head-end of Amaravathi River have urged that water release should not exceed 1,000 cusecs for drinking needs of both districts.
MM Veerappan, president of Amaravathi Irrigation Farmers’ Association, said, “There is a government order stating that only 1,000 cusecs of water should be released into the river to meet the drinking water needs of the two districts. Officials should not act in violation of the government order. Instead, officials must prevent water theft along the way and ensure water reaches the tail-end areas. We will launch protests if the water release exceeds 1,000 cusecs.”
Further, he said, “Life water for standing crops must be released from the dam for 15 days for the new ayacut areas as there is a severe drought in our irrigation areas. We held a symbolic protest in Madathukulam on Wednesday to press for our demands,” he added.
A senior water resources department official said, “As per the government order, only 1,000 cusecs of water has been released into Amaravathi River. Even if farmers ask 3,000 cusecs, we cannot violate the government order. The court has issued certain instructions to us regarding water release. But it did not issue any orders as a verdict. We submitted details regarding water release to the court even on Wednesday.”
“On Wednesday, the water crossed the 96th km of the 227 km of the river. We expect the water to reach the tail-end areas soon. Water will be released for drinking purposes for eight days,” the official said.
“Further, 258 cusecs of water has been released from the dam for the old ayacut canals, as per the existing government order. Moreover, there is no possibility of releasing water for any other irrigation at present,” the official added.
On Wednesday, the water level of the dam was 57.38 feet (1570 mcft) against the full level of 90 feet (4047.41 mcft).
