Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Coimbatore, Erode regions to benefit most

COIMBATORE: Farmers in the six western districts of the State - Coimbatore, Tirupur, The Nilgiris, Erode, Salem and Namakkal - are expected to be among the major beneficiaries of the government's scheme of replacing old inefficient irrigation pump sets.

The total number of agricultural connections in these districts, coming under Coimbatore and Erode regions of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), is about 4.5 lakh. The agricultural demand is about 600 MW.

TNEB Chief Engineer, Coimbatore, A. Thangavel told The Hindu here on Tuesday that ground water table was low in these regions. Water was available only at 700 or 800 feet in several places and a number of farmers in these regions used compressors to pump water into the nearby tank or well and then use it for farming. “Some of them used the compressor even for 10 hours a day and this consumed a lot of energy,” he said.

Chief Engineer of the Board (Erode Region) N. Sankar said that in places such as Attur and Vazhapaadi, the farmers mainly used borewells and compressors. TNEB has started collecting details about marginal, small and large farmers.

The pumpset industry in Coimbatore, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the country's agricultural pumpsets, has lauded the announcement. Former president of the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers' Association and Managing Director of Mahendra Pumps Jayakumar Ramdass said that the move would result in enormous power saving. “However, the mode of implementation is the key to its success.” Quality of the pumpsets was also important to ensure energy saving, he added.

President of the association R.R. Ranghanathen said Coimbatore had 300 Bureau of Indian Standard licensees (pumpset manufacturers). Nearly 60 per cent of them manufactured agricultural pumpsets. “We will appeal to the Chief Minister to source the entire requirements of the scheme from the manufacturers here as Coimbatore is a major pumpset manufacturing hub in the country.” The cost of a submersible pumpset is Rs.20,000 to Rs.30,000 a unit and the price of those pumpsets having Bureau of Energy Efficiency rating is 10 to 15 per cent higher. This excludes the cost of panels, cables, and pipes, according to Mr. Ranghanathen.

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