Dharmapuri: Farmers in Karimangalam have urged the Dharmapuri administration to strictly monitor the level of water released from dams and canals in the area. He alleged that water given for irrigation and animal husbandry is snatched away by vested interests to fill private wells.
“Large-scale withdrawal of water from canals has significantly affected water storage and may impact animal husbandry and farming in the coming summer,” farmers said.
Water was released from the KRP dam in Krishnagiri in December 2023. This was to irrigate more than 9,012 acres in parts of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. The water released is important for feeding more than 24 lakes in Karimangalam which is in Dharmapuri district.
However, due to large-scale use of water by farmers and others for profit, water has so far reached only five lakes. Farmers in Karimangalam alleged that if the situation is left unchecked, both animal husbandry and farming will be seriously affected in the summer.
Speaking to TNIE, P Murugesan of Karimangalam said the outflow of 79 cubic feet per second (cusec) from the KRP dam is enough to irrigate the land for 130 days. “Water is being released from KRP dam since December. This water should have reached Karimangalam by now but it has not reached all the lakes.
“This water is being taken away by farmers who use borewells to fill their private wells. If this situation continues then the entire Karimangalam block will dry up. Therefore we urge the authorities to look into this matter.
Another farmer from Karimangalam said, “We understand that farmers are trying to reserve water for the summer. But this is happening at the cost of the welfare of other farmers.
this is unacceptable. People involved in fish farming business are exploiting most of the water to replenish their water for aquaculture. This will impact the summer crop and with water shortage in most of the water bodies in Karimangalam, animal husbandry will also be affected. Therefore efforts should be made to stop these activities.” “Efforts will be made to monitor and stop this practice,” said R Gayathri, Dharmapuri revenue divisional officer.
