Water continues to be drawn illegally from Bhavanisagar dam, allege farmers in Erode
When the district is reeling under water shortage, a few owners of large farms have laid pipelines to illegally draw water from the dam to supply to their lands, they say
another man, Tamilan, 36, of Dharmapuri, who worked at the same spinning mill that her husband worked at. Tamilan was married and had a child. Police said Masilamani gave 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery and cash to Tamilan to repay a loan he had.
Recently, Thangamani and Masilamani’s daughter attained puberty, and Thangamani was preparing to hold a function for her, and the jewellery was needed. But Tamilan told Masilamani that he needed more time to return the jewellery. The two believed that the function could be only stopped by the news of the death of a close relative and so, planned to murder Palanisamy.
On April 19, Masilamani and Tamilan, along with her 17-year-old son, went to the house of Palanisamy and hacked him and poured kerosene over him and set him on re. The police on Thursday arrested the three and sent Masilamani and Tamilan to prison while the teenager was lodged at a Borstal School.
Even as a water crisis looms and most farmers are unable to get enough water to even save their standing crops, a few farmers have been continuing to illegally extract many lakh litres of water through pipelines, every day, directly from the Bhavanisagar dam. Farmers associations claim that o cials of the Water Resources Organisation (WRO) of the Public Works Department (PWD) are silent spectators to these violations.
As many as ve pipelines have been laid for over 700 metres from farmlands, located in Kanrayanmokkai, Periyakallipatti Panchayat in Bhavanisagar block, to the water spread area of the dam and water is being pumped directly from the dam to the farms every day. Of these, one pipeline is used to draw and supply water to the village by the government. Local people alleged that two persons, who own 100 to 150 acres in the area, draw water every day and supply it to their land on which they have cultivated bananas and mangoes. “This has been going on for many years,” they said and claimed that o cials were aware of this. Since the water level in the dam has gone down, a new pipeline was also laid recently to draw more water, they said.
While other farmers could not cultivate crops due to lack of water, the farmland of these two persons continued to be lush green throughout the year. “Even the hillock is encroached upon and banana crops are cultivated,” a local sherman, who did not want to be named, said.
Farmers associations said the equal distribution of water was necessary and a few individuals could not be allowed to tap it illegally. They pointed out that 3.48 tmc water is available in the dam, and that could only full drinking water needs and hence, water could not be supplied for irrigation for 1.03 lakh acres in Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) ayacut areas in the current season.
K.V. Ponnaiyan, secretary of Keel Bhavani Murai Neer Pasana Vivasaigal Kootamaippu urged the departments of WRO, Revenue and Tangedco, to take immediate action and stop this illegal activity. “When farmers in three districts are suering due to water shortage, a few large farmers cannot enjoy unlimited access to water through illegal means,” he said. The Madras High Court had, in October 2021, asked authorities to conduct periodical inspections to check for illegal extraction of water and register criminal cases against such persons.
AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami inaugurated a thanneer pandal on behalf of the party in Suramangalam, and distributed fruits and buttermilk to the public on Friday.
Recently, Mr. Palaniswami had instructed AIADMK party cadres to set up thanneer pandals, in view of the heat and high temperature, and to distribute buttermilk and drinking water to the public.
Based on this announcement, on behalf of the Salem urban and district units, a thanneer pandal was set up at Suramangalam in Salem city.
Mr. Palaniswami inaugurated it and distributed fruits, including watermelon, muskmelon, cucumbers, and oranges. Likewise, buttermilk and soft drink bottles were also distributed to the public.
AIADMK functionaries, former MLAs, MPs, and local body representatives also participated.