TIRUPPUR: Farmers have requested that water be released from the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) to the Vattamalai dam to alleviate the drought conditions they are currently facing. S Meinjanamurthy, a farmer from Veeranampalayam, said, “The Vattamalai dam is located at Vellakovil in Tiruppur district. Around 6,000 acres of agricultural land spread across 30 villages are irrigated by it. The dam is a small one with a water capacity of 268 mcft. Currently, there is a severe drought in the villages irrigated by the dam due to insufficient rainfall.”
“Due to this, we are struggling without water for villagers’ drinking needs and cattle rearing. At the same time, due to continuous rains this year, PAP dams are also full now. There is a possibility that surplus water will be released from PAP dams to the sea in the coming days. Therefore, water should be provided from the dam,” he added.
P Nataraj of Kattunaickenpalayam village said, “At present, under PAP, water distribution has been completed up to the third zone. Water will soon be released from PAP to the fourth zone. For this, irrigation canals are being dredged. It will take another month for this work to be completed. In the interim, authorities should release water from the PAP dams to Vattamalai Dam before releasing water to the fourth zone. We have submitted a petition to the district administration in this regard.”
Medical K Paramasivam, Chairperson of the PAP Planning Committee, said, “Parambikulam, a major dam of PAP, has not yet reached full capacity. It still needs three tmc of water to reach full level. Therefore, at present, it is not feasible to open water to Vattamalai immediately. If there is heavy rainfall and there is no water demand for PAP’s fourth zone, water can be provided first to the Uppar Dam and then to Vattamalai Dam. Due to an existing order, first preference must be given to the Uppar Dam.”
