Chennai, June 5 Farmers in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts have urged the Water Resources Department (WRD) to fully dredge the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) main canal before releasing water to the fourth irrigation zone, warning that failure to do so would lead to massive water wastage and reduced irrigation efficiency.
The PAP main canal, stretching 124 kilometres from the Thirumoorthy Dam in Udumalaipet to Vellakovil in Tiruppur district, serves a vast agricultural command area of approximately 3.77 lakh acres divided into four irrigation zones.
The fourth zone alone accounts for around 94,000 acres, covering the entire length of the main canal. S. Paramasivam, President of the Tamil Nadu Coconut Farmers Association (Tiruppur District), emphasised the urgent need for desilting. “The PAP system irrigates nearly 4.25 lakh acres in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. Of this, 3.77 lakh acres receive water directly from the Thirumoorthy Dam. But over 75 per cent of the main canal is now damaged or choked with silt, and many branch and distributary canals are poorly maintained,” he said.
He added that what once took 21 days for a complete irrigation cycle now takes up to 29 days due to water seepage and blockages.
“If not dredged, the system will continue to lose water, delaying irrigation and affecting crop yield,” he said.
Farmers noted that the WRD is currently supplying water to the third zone for the fourth round, with the fourth zone scheduled to receive water only after the fifth round.
They demand that the canal be cleared before then. “There are trees growing inside the canal, and the silt accumulation is obstructing the flow of water in several stretches,” Paramasivam said.
Kumarasamy, a farmer from the region, accused the government of neglecting the irrigation needs of Coimbatore and Tiruppur. “The allocation of funds is grossly inadequate. There is a consistent bias that has left our systems crumbling. Without sufficient funding, the WRD cannot address the problem effectively,” he said.
In response, a senior WRD official from Coimbatore acknowledged the concerns and said, “We have submitted a proposal seeking Rs 10 crore for desilting the PAP, Lower Bhavani Project (LBP), and Amaravathi canals. But only Rs 1.5 crore has been sanctioned so far. As a result, we will prioritise critical stretches where water flow is most affected.”
Despite the assurance, farmers remain sceptical and continue to press for immediate action to avoid irrigation delays and potential crop loss in the crucial fourth zone.
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