TN farmers protest against Kerala govt for building dam over Silandhi river

Chennai, May 20 Farmers of Karur and Tiruppur districts of Tamil Nadu on Monday protested against the Kerala government for building a check dam across the Silandhi river.

The protesting farmers said that the dam would hinder flow into the Amaravathi river in Tamil Nadu.

They said that the Amaravati dam irrigates around 55,000 acres of farmlands in the Tiruppur and Karur districts of Tamil Nadu and a check dam -- dam constructed across a swale, drainage ditch, or waterway to counteract erosion by reducing water flow velocity -- across river Silandhi river in Kerala would lead to a curb in water flow to the farmlands, adversely affecting the farmers and agriculture.

Silandhi river is a tributary of the Thenar river which merges with the Amaravati river that originates in Munnar.

Tamil Nadu farmers have already requested the state government to talk to the Kerala government to stop the construction of the check dam.

Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department officials said that the check dam is 40 meters long and 2 meters high.

Velu Sivakumar, the Deputy Secretary of the farmer's wing of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), the Dalit political party of Tamil Nadu told IANS: “Farmers would organise a protest in front of the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department local office in Dharmapuram on May 27.”

Krishnasamy. M.K, a farmer in Karur told IANS that if the state government does not intervene and prevent Kerala from stopping the construction of the check dam then the 55,000 acres of farmland in Karur and Tirupur would become barren and the farmers would have no means to live.

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