The Hindu : 30 hamlets facing drinking water crisis, crops withering

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 12, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Dindigul

30 hamlets facing drinking water crisis, crops withering

DINDIGUL, JAN.11. Though water in the Kombaiyar reservoir in the district reaches its brink, 30 hamlets at Kodalvavi, Sriramapuram and Thethupatti have been reeling under acute drinking water scarcity and standing crops on 500 acres are withering.

The reservoir was constructed at Pannaipatti in 1975 across the Kombaiyar, flowing from Adalur and the Pandrimalai hills, for irrigating 625 acres at Thethupatti and 575 acres at Kodalvavi.

Farmers under the authorised ayacuts and the people residing in many villages around the dam site had not been able to use the water for the past one decade.

The present dam level is 36.69 mcft thanks to a heavy rainfall in the hills. Farmers at Kodalvavi, Sriramapuram and Thethupatti were disgusted, as the construction of the dam was not beneficial to them.

When contacted, the Kodalvavi Farmers Association president, N. Palanichamy, said wet crops had been raised on hundreds of acres in these villages before the dam was constructed, as water flowing in the Kombaiyar was stored in the Thoppulnaicken tank, Sirunaickenpatti tank, Mangarai tank, Perumalnaicken tank and Vaigaikulam tank.

The people residing in villages eight km away from the dam site used the river water for irrigation.

But after the dam was constructed, water did not reach these tanks. With no water in these tanks, wetland had been converted into dry land. But, farmers paid land tax for the wet crop only.

"We demanded water from the dam not for irrigation but for drinking and protecting hundreds of cattle heads. A rapid depletion of groundwater forced us to run from pillar to post for drinking water. Despite repeated requests and appeals, PWD authorities replied that there was no provision to release water to these villages. It could supply water only to the authorised ayacuts only," Mr. Palanichamy said.

The condition of the authorised ayacuts was still worse, as the PWD did not release water even for them. Farmers under the authorised ayacuts also had not been able to use the dam water since 1991, he added.

"Not a single drop of water was released from the reservoir," said the ayacut farmer, P. Mani. Two decades ago, we raised sugarcane, but we found it difficult to protect even the dry crop, he added.

"Maize is raised on 1200 acres of the authorised ayacuts this year. While many farmers have been struggling to protect the standing crops, the PWD authorities have not released water for even the dry crops and advised us to manage with well water."

Actually, two shutters that are not in use for long are in a highly damaged condition. The approach bridge is also dilapidated. The Thethupatti Farmers Association president, A. Karuppusamy, said the dam only converted wetland into dryland and created drinking water crisis.

When contacted, PWD officials said there was no legal provision for releasing water for the unauthorised ayacuts. To a question on the release of water for the authorised ayacuts, they said water could be released only when farmers demanded. Moreover, the Government alone could take a decision.

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30 hamlets facing drinking water crisis, crops withering