Backed by political parties, several thousands of farmers belonging to LBP (Lower Bhavani Project) ayacut staged a protest on Tuesday against what they described as the ‘transgression’ of the directive issued by the Cauvery Water Tribunal on sharing of water stored in Bhavani Sagar Reservoir, by the district administration and the Public Works Department.
Addressing the protestors, representatives of farmers’ associations including S. Nallasamy, president of LBP Farmers’ Welfare Association, K.V. Ponnaiyan of Tamil Nadu Swadeshi Farmers’ Association and other frontline leaders accused the PWD of releasing water beyond the prescribed proportion to the old ayacut from the dam, and cautioned about outbreak of unrest if remedial measures were not taken.
While the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal had, in its final order, sanctioned 28 tmc (19 tmc for wet crop in 1.035 lakh acres and nine tmc for dry crop in the remaining 1.035 lakh acre under turn system) for the LBP ayacut and eight tmc for the old ayacut consisting of the 40,000 acres irrigated by Thadapalli-Arakankottai and Kalingarayan canals, the PWD had ‘acted whimsically’, Mr. Nallasamy said.
The Tribunal’s specification that water for second crop could be released for the old ayacut only after fulfilling the requirements of the new ayacut covered by LBP canal has been flouted by the PWD by sanctioning over 10 tmc water for the old ayacut. The PWD had failed to apprise the government of the schedule of water year, and misled the government into sanctioning excess water for the old ayacut despite the storage in the dam being much lesser, Mr. Ponnaiyan said. Since the storage in the dam was 7.8 tmc on August 12, at the time of water release into for the old ayacut, three-fourth share of water must rightfully belong to the new ayacut. The share of LBP ayacut must be conserved in the dam and released next month coinciding with the onset of Northeast monsoons, the speakers collectively emphasised.
The LBP ayacut farmers are not prepared to accept the PWD’s reported readiness to release water into LBP canal for special wetting, and have plans to seek legal remedy. Pointing to Tamil Nadu Government’s decision to approach the Supreme Court for its share of water from the Cauvery, Mr. Ponnaiyan sought to explain that the LBP farmers were also in a similar predicament. The farmers were also addressed by DMK Deputy General Secretary Subbulakshmi Jegadeesan and senior TMC leader Vidyal Sekar.
