Cauvery and Kollidam rivers flowing full, but not tail end

CHENNAI: Despite the Cauvery and the Kollidam rivers flowing full, some people in tail-end areas are still struggling for water. The irate villagers, deprived of water, staged a protest on the bed of a lake in Thanjavur on Tuesday.

In contradiction to the heavy flow of water in and around every canal across the Delta after the release of water from Mettur and discharge from the Grand Anicut (Kallanai), the village Kadaiyakudi close to Kallanai has dry lakes and parched land. Surprisingly water has not reached the lake that irrigates several thousand acres of land.

On Tuesday, the frustrated people of Kadaiyakudi gathered on the bed of Kadaiyakudi Ayyanar Gurukkal lake and staged a protest demanding the release of water. They urged the officials to ensure water reaches tail-end areas.

“Kadaiyakudi Ayyanar Gurukkal lake is 134 acres vast and it irrigates 500 acres directly and around 2,500 acres indirectly in and around Kadaiyakudi village. Since there is no water in the waterbodies in the locality, the groundwater level has gone too low and even the villagers have been facing drinking water deficit,” said K Pakkirisamy, CPM District Committee member, who led the protest.

He demanded water from the New Kattalaimettu Vaical to reach the Kadaiyakudi lake.

Pakkirisamy said that the Kadaiyakudi village is located just 7 km away from Kallanai and around 2,000 people, who depend on agriculture, reside in the village.

“Usually, the new Kattalaimettu Vaical receives water in time and the agriculture activities used to be very active. But from last year, water was not released from Kattalaimettu Vaical and so the Kadaiyakudi lake has turned dry. So the farmers from the locality could not undertake cultivation since last year,” he said.

He also said that the water goes waste into the sea and the officials must divert the water to our lake to save our livelihood.