Banana growers, who depend on the Uyyakondan canal for irrigation, staged a protest here on Friday demanding water release to meet needs of standing cash crops till the end of May.
The agitation comes in the wake of persistent demands from farmers’ organisations to release adequate water from the Mettur Dam to meet the needs of standing cash crops such as banana, sugarcane and betelvine, dependent on the 17 irrigation canals between Mettur and Grant Anicut. A few days back, farmers of Thottiyam had put forth a similar demand to release water in the North Bank canal and others to save standing cash crops.
On Friday, a group of farmers depending on the Uyyakondan canal resorted to a protest in front of the office of the Executive Engineer, Public Works Department (River Conservation Division) demanding immediate release of water. They said PWD officials had failed to fulfil an earlier assurance to release water in the canal.
“We had petitioned the PWD authorities and they assured us that water will be released by Friday. They had been saying that water could not be released due to some maintenance work. But standing crops have started withering for want of water and as there was no sign of water release we were forced to stage a protest,” said Ayilai Siva Suriyan, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the Communist Party of India.
Mr.Siva Suriyan argued that usually about 2,000 to 3,000 cusecs of water would be released during the non-Mettur season to meet drinking water requirements and irrigation needs of farmers dependent on 17 irrigation canals.
Though there was no release for some years due to poor storage in the Mettur, last year water was released in canals when the storage position at the Mettur Dam was about 55 feet. Now, with the water level standing about 104 feet, the government should ensure release of water in canals till May. The release of water was essential to meet drinking water requirements of various towns and cities dependent on the Cauvery, he said.
He urged the PWD to take up all maintenance work on canals in Tiruchi district after May.
The farmers, who had called for an indefinite sit-in agitation, withdrew the stir following talks with the Executive Engineer. Mr.Siva Suriyan claimed that the official had assured that water would be released in the Uyyakondan canal by Monday.
