Farmers threaten agitation against release of water

Members of Lower Bhavani Project Ryots Association today threatened to go on protest if the state government ignored the Cauvery Tribunal verdict and released water from Bhavanisagar dam to old ayacut lands here.
President of Lower Bhavani Project Ryots Association C Nallasamy, in a memorandum to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, said that as per the Tribunal's order, water should be released from Bhavanisagar dam for irrigation only during samba season.
But now representations had been received by government to release water to old ayacut lands (Tadapalli, Arakkankottai canals) and Kalingarayan canal. If PWD does so, it would amount to violation of the order, he said.

Hence he requested that water for Lower Bhavani project and old ayacuts be released simultanesouly only after receiving enough rainfall in August.
If the order was violated, farmers in Erode and Karur district will resort to agitation, he warned.
Lower Bhavani reservoir is the third biggest reservoir in Tamil Nadu which was designed to store 32.8 TMC feet of water, but as on date only 3.5 TMC feet of water is being stored with 4000 cusecs of inflow from catchment area, he said.
The association had also forwarded a copy of the memorandum to Erode District Collector and MLAs of the district.