The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Farmers seek permission to desilt check dams in the district

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Monday, Jun 27, 2011
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Farmers seek permission to desilt check dams in the district

Karthik Madhavan

Check dams are constructed across small water ways, canals and drains to arrest the flow of rainwater

PHOTO: S.SIVA SARAVANAN

Full of silt:The poor condition of the check dam at Othakalmandapam is similar to that of hundreds of such check dams across the district. –

COIMBATORE: With South West monsoon in progress and the North East only a few months away, farmers here appear a worried lot. An unusual situation prevails contrary to the impression that farmers always welcome rains.

The farmers' worry has to do with the condition of hundreds of check dams in the district. They are full of silt and are not in a position to arrest the flow of rain water, says Vazhukkuparai Balu, district president, Tamizhaga Vivasayeegal Sangam (farmers' association).

The check dams, constructed across small water ways, canals and drains, are supposed to arrest the flow of rain water that run off the agriculture fields. The arrested i.e., stagnant water not only recharges ground water but also serve as a source of water for cattle.

If it were to rain today, the check dams will not be able to prevent water flow. The water will drain without being beneficial to farmers, says P. Kandasamy, secretary of the farmers' association.

The farmers, until about a decade ago, removed the silt at regular intervals and used the same to nourish their fields, for the silt is rich in nutrients, says M. Senthilkumar, a farmer.

Today, to remove the silt, the farmers need the district administration's permission.

“If the administration had let us use the silt, there would not have been a problem in any of the check dam,” he argues.

Excess mining

The administration denied permission to the farmers because it felt that there was every chance of excess mining of silt by brick manufacturers.

A source in the PWD's Water Resource Organisation says unregulated mining of the silt can lead to problems, even to the extent of threatening the structural stability of the check dam.

In Mr. Balu's estimates there are around 800 check dams in the district that are in such a sorry condition. “The State Government is talking of rain water harvesting to recharge ground water. The check dams too help in water harvesting but it is not paying enough attention to the maintenance of the dams.”

The farmers raised the issue at the recently held farmers' grievance meeting at the Collectorate. They urged the Collector to ask the PWD to clean the check dams or let them use the silt and thereby clean the dams.

The PWD source says the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board and the Agriculture Engineering Department have also constructed check dams in the district. To obtain desilting permission, the farmers need to apply to the department of mines and this is a routine procedure. The PWD does not have a problem with the farmers' using the silt.

They can very much show their farmers' identity card and use the silt. In fact it will only help the PWD, PWD source adds.

At the farmers' grievance meeting the Collector M. Karunakaran had also promised to redress the grievance.

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