Bhavani water eludes several ponds under Athikadavu-Avinashi project
"Many water bodies in the village panchayats, including Nambiyampalayam, Thekkalur, Karuvalur, Pudupalayam, Uppilipalayam, and Kittampalam, are dry," stated S Thangamuthu, a farmer and coordinator of the Athikadavu-Avinashi Project Agitation Committee, from Thekkalur.
"After many decades of struggle, the Athikadavu-Avinashi project came into operation last year. However, in many places, water bodies are still not receiving enough water. In some places, water is not reaching the ponds," he added.
"We complained to the officials several times regarding this. But no action has been taken. At present, excess water from the Bhavani Sagar Dam has been released into the river. About 16,700 cusecs of excess water was released on Monday. Even then, there is no water supply to the ponds in our area. We face drought even though the project is operational. We are preparing to mobilise farmers in this regard and launch a series of protests soon."
K Balraj, a farmer of Cheyur village, said, "Water bodies in major cities and villages are filled by this scheme. But authorities are not concerned about water bodies in remote villages. Many water bodies in our area are without sufficient water. Authorities are biased in water distribution. This will definitely bring disrepute to the government among farmers and the public."
However, a senior official of the Water Resources Department (WRD) for the Athikadavu-Avinashi project (Avinashi Division) told TNIE that these issues will be resolved in a few days.
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