‘Reveal status of 1,000 check dams announced in Budget’

TIRUCHY: Delta farmers have urged the State government to give the status of the 1,000 new check dams and barrages announced in the State Budget and sought completion of the works at the earliest. If not done, the farmers fear that the water might go waste into the sea.

“The government announced new check-dams in the Delta region but there is no sign of construction works taking place,” N Ravichandran, a farmer from Sirkazhi said.

He urged the government to start the construction of check dams at the earliest so it would prevent water from going to waste as well as it would help in recharging groundwater at many places.

Meanwhile, Cauvery V Dhanapalan, General Secretary of the Cauvery Farmers Protection Association said that the State government has no vision to save monsoon rainwater.

“It is necessary to have the infrastructure to store water locally so that it could be beneficial during the water crisis,” he said.

He pointed out that there are several rain-fed regions in the district and the storage facilities would help these regions.

While P Viswanathan, state president of Tank and River Ayacutdars Welfare Association, said, the State government should immediately construct check dams across the Cauvery and the Kollidam so that unnecessary flooding into the agricultural land could be prevented and the water storage would be realised for taking up cultivation. “There was an announcement of 1,000 check dams in the region but nothing has materialised. The government should initiate steps to build hope among the farmers,” Viswanathan said.