Farmers in Tirupattur district organised a protest near the Pullur check dam in Natrampalli town on the Tamil Nadu - Andhra Pradesh border on Tuesday, against the latter’s plan to construct a check dam across Palar river.
The farmers said that the check dam would affect a large number of farmers in Tirupattur, one of the riparian districts along Palar river. The protest, which was organised by Salem-based Tamizhaga Farmers Association, comes in the wake of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announcing allocation of ₹215 crore for constructing the check dam in Palar river at Santhipuram in Kuppam constituency.
“The new check dam plan by Andhra Pradesh is against the inter-State accord signed during the British rule. It will reduce the total acreage under cultivation downstream significantly,” said R. Velusamy, State president, Tamizhaga Farmers Association.
The association said that under the Madras-Mysore Agreement, 1892, the upstream State, Andhra Pradesh, should not construct any structure that will obstruct, divert, or store the river water without the consent of the downstream State. Palar is one of the 15 rivers that has been identified in the agreement.
Palar runs 222 km in northern Tamil Nadu, covering Tirupattur, Vellore, Ranipet, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpet districts whereas in A.P., the river flows for a distance of only 33 km. Farmers in northern Tamil Nadu primarily depend on the river for irrigation as the river is the main source of water for over 4.5 lakh hectares of cultivable land in the region.
“Over the years, A.P. has constructed 22 check dams across Palar. Imagine the impact these check dams would have on farming in the downstream areas of Tamil Nadu,” said S. Ashokan, a Palar river activist in Tirupattur.
Depletion of groundwater due to the construction of a new check dam will also affect domestic water consumption in Tirupattur and other downstream districts along the river. At present, most of the local bodies, especially village panchayats in Tirupattur, depend on the river to supply water to households at least twice a week. Deep borewells, 900 ft to 1,200 ft in depth, were dug by local bodies on the dry river bed for the supply of water to the households.
The State government should initiate steps to prevent the construction of the check dam by Andhra Pradesh, farmers said.
