Farmers urge govt. to widen LBP main canal, strengthen bunds

ERODE Keel Bhavani Vivasayigal Nala Sangam has urged the State government to drop the project to mod

Keel Bhavani Vivasayigal Nala Sangam has urged the State government to drop the project to modernise the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) canal and instead widen the canal and strengthen its bunds to ensure water reaches tail-end farmers.

In a letter to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Water Resources Minister S. Duraimurugan, association president C. Nallasamy said Bhavanisagar Dam or LBP dam was the second largest dam in the State and an earthen dam.

Groundwater recharge was the main objective that was pointed out in the project report itself. Its ayacut area covered 2.07 lakh acre and the unlined canal was designed to carry water to cultivate 1,03,500 acre at a time. When water was released in odd sluices, cultivation would directly be carried out in 1,03,500 acre, and indirectly through wells. Seepage helped recharge the wells, he added.

The letter said water from the LBP project system was used for cultivation in Kodiveri and Kalingarayan ayacut areas after which water entered River Cauvery.

Former Chief Minister Jayalalitha in 2013 had announced a project to concrete line the canal and due to stiff opposition from the ayacut farmers, the project was dropped. After seven years, in the name of modernisation, the State government, without mentioning the name concrete-lining, allotted funds for the project.

“Work to concrete-line the Parambikulam Aliyar Project failed and the concrete slabs in the Mullai Periyar Project vanished,” the letter said.

Mr. Nallasamy said concrete-lining of the canal would affect recharge of groundwater. Also, the main canal was a contour canal and water stagnated and kept moving. “Concrete-lining will not help water reach the tail-end farmers,” the letter said.