Water unlikely to be released for East-West Canal system

October 03, 2016 12:00 am | Updated November 01, 2016 10:32 pm IST - SALEM:

The possibility of release of water from the Mettur dam for raising paddy under the dam’s East-West Canal system in Salem, Namakkal and Erode districts this season looks bleak.

The East-West Canal system covered about 45,000 acres in the three districts of Salem (16,433 acres), Namakkal (11,337 acres) and Erode (17,230 acres). As per the PWD calendar, water is usually released for farm activities in delta region from June 12 – January 28 and under the East-West Canal scheme for 137 days from August 1 – December 15.

Since the water storage position in the Mettur dam was not adequate enough, the release of water last year was deferred to August 9 for the Cauvery basin and August 20 for the East-West Canal system. The release was stepped up within a few days, thanks to the increased inflow due to the onset of monsoon in the catchment areas.

This year, water was released from Mettur Dam for raising Samba in Delta basin on September 20, when the water level stood at 87.68 feet against the full level of 120 feet and the storage level 50.39 tmc.

The farmers of the three western districts under East-West Canal scheme celebrated the release of water for Cauvery basin and were eagerly awaiting announcement on the release of water for them too. But, their joy died down soon, with no sign of Karnataka releasing additional water and the water level in Mettur Dam depleting fast.

A cross section of the farmers of western districts ruled out the possibility of release of water under East-West Canal system with the present storage level in the dam. K. Sundaram, general secretary, Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, and C. Vaiyapuri, president of the United Farmers Association – Tamil Nadu, said that the apprehension of the farmers of not getting adequate water for East-West Canal scheme has come true. The expectations of the farmers have been belied. This should be considered as the vertex of the problem, they said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.