Palar, lifeline of northern districts, sets course for heated poll debate

Palar, lifeline of northern districts, sets course for heated poll debate

Shanmughasundaram J





Mounting Pressure On Parties To Revive The River

After more than a decade of drought, farmers and environmentalists in the districts of Vellore, Tiru vannamalai and Kancheepuram saw some water in Palar river only last December. It was an aberration caused by an unusually heavy downpour. With no chance of seeing water in the river till another unprecedented monsoon hits the state, people are eagerly waiting to see if parties take up Palar restoration project as part of their election manifesto.The sand mafia has been plundering the riverbed for decades, while indutries have been releasing effluents into the water. Without any water to flush it out into the sea, ground water is being contaminated.
The stakeholdies for attention to ers' cries for attention to revive the river, which is the lifeline for three northern districts and some parts of Chennai, has mounted pressure on parties to come up with schemes to revive the river. It was one of the two perennial rivers -the o t h e r b e i n g Ta m i r ap a r a n i i n Tirunelveli -in the state. The flow became seasonal and scarce in Palar after Andhra Pradesh constructed multiple check dams in the upper reaches of the river.
DMK and AIADMK, which have ruled the state for over four decades, have failed in designing projects to breathe life into the river. “There is no political will to stop sand mining from the riverbed. It has depleted groundwater level,“ said Kanchi Amudhan, an activist.
Chief minister J Jayalalithaa had announced in 2014 that her government would take up a project to link Thenpennai and Palar rivers. It was aimed at diverting flood water from Krishnagiri reservoir at Nedungal to the Palar river basin via Kallaru by digging a 54 km long canal. However, the project is yet to materialise, though it was first proposed in 2008.
“The government did not give con currence to the project report submitted by the National Water Development Agency in July last year. We have lost faith in AIADMK,“ said A C Venkatesan of TN Pasumai Pathukappu Iyakkam.
DMK's election manifesto, released on Sunday, says it will implement Palar-Thenpennai-Cauvery link project. But no party has so far lived up to the expectations of the people of Vellore. “We want a government, which will maintain a cordial relationship with neighbouring states, to succeed in implementing the river linking projects,“ said A Ashokan, an activist.