With water flow in Palar, demand for check dams gets louder
Vellore:
It was last in 1996-97 that river Palar saw such copious water flow. Now, in 2017, as water flow completed its course in the river in Vellore and Kancheepuram districts, farmers have only one thing in mind. Their voices demanding the State government to construct check dams across the river is becoming louder like never before.
Over the last three months, the bone-dry Palar river came alive with surplus water from a check dam in Andhra Pradesh (AP) gushing into the river from the point where it enters Tamil Nadu (TN) – Pullur panchayat near Vaniyambadi. While the sight of water was a reason to cheer for farmers in Vellore district, it also caused dismay as the river, in its entire course in the State, has no check dam, leaving little scope for storing water.
There are no check dams across the river that runs for 222 kilometres in Tamil Nadu. The only structure, which is Palar Anicut near Pudupadi, is to divert water from the river to the tanks. In fact, this was constructed more than a century ago in 1858.
Palar has witnessed periodical water flow. The river, according to details availed from PWD for the period of 1979 to 20017, registered a good flow of water in the entire Palar river basin for 13 years.
Data shows that the river witnessed water flow in 1996-1997. The maximum discharge of water was recorded during the year 1996-1997 - 75.20 Mm3 in September and 73.90 Mm3 in October in 1996. The water flow continued till January in 1997.
But despite the water flow, farmers say storage of water was not possible, and year after year, the district was facing drought conditions. They say that despite the governments of AP and Karnataka constructing 22 and 18 check dams respectively across Palar, water continues to flow into Vellore district but most of them was going for waste.
“We have been demanding for check dams across the river for over five decades. Former Chief Minister Annadurai opened an office in Kancheepuram in 1967 to study the feasibility to construct check dams. It was left in oblivion after his demise. This shows the attitude of the Dravidian parties towards conserving river Palar,” said Kanchi Amudhan, Coordinator of Palar Pathukappu Kottamaippu Iyakkam.
In fact, in their reply to a RTI application in 2014, PWD officials said that the government contemplated to construct two check dams at Perumpakkam, Palayasivaram Pinayur in Kancheepuram district. But nothing has happened till date.
In fact, the Supreme Court had passed an order on August 28, 1996 to constitute Loss of Ecology Committee comprising experts. The committee conducted a study and identified 13 locations through remote sensing to construct check dams across Palar and its tributaries in Vellore district at a cost of Rs 26 crore. The report was submitted to the TN government in 2006, said A Asokan, a member of the Reversal of Ecology Committee.
The state government did not execute the recommendation, which was a violation of the Supreme Court order. “Instead of check dams, the TN government constructed three dykes and did not take up check dams’ construction works till date. It is a violation of Apex Court order,” he added.
The demand for check dams was one of the main issues raised by farmers during the recently-held farmers’ grievance redressal meeting. Raja Perumal, a farmer, said one check dam should be constructed for every kilometres across Palar river. Farmers argued that in the absence of check dams, water was not diverted from the river into majority of tanks, resulting in poor storage.
A section of farmers in Vellore district have been demanding for check dam at Virinchipuram. “We have submitted several petitions to the PWD seeking a check dam at Virinchipuram. If a check dam is constructed here, water will flow into waterbodies such as Sadupperi, Katteri and Monavur Periyar Eri and Chinna Eri. Only recently did the PWD officials say they will look into the feasibility,” said S N C Marthandan, organiser of Palar Protection Awareness Movement.
Many farmers point out that both the Dravidian parties showed more interest in starting sand quarries in Palar riverbed, rather than taking concrete steps to conserve the river and improve the water table by constructing check dams.
Senior DMK leader and former PWD Minister Durai Murugan said during the party’s regime, they prepared a proposal to avail Rs 1700 crores from the World Bank to construct 10 check dams – six in Vellore and 4 in Kancheepuram. “But after the AIADMK came to power, this was shelved. This government is keen on opening more number of sand quarries in Palar riverbed,” he said.
Not just farmers but experts too are of the view that check dams across Palar will help. S. Janakarajan, professor of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, said, “I submitted a report to the Central Planning Commission in 1989-90 recommending the construction of check dams for every 10 kms from the downstream of Palar river to make use of flash flood water. The river used to witness flash floods every five to 10 years. If check dams are constructed paving way to storage of water, it will improve the base flow and ground water table, and there will no water scarcity for the next four to five years. But this was not taken into consideration.”
Environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman feels that dams and anicuts tend to store and replenish the groundwater level. The riverbed will witness water flow for a much longer period, if there was good amount of sand deposit. However, the intense sand mining has dented percolation of water in the ground and flown to the sea in a short time.
“The river will nourish in the future if sand mining is stopped,” he pointed out./eom/shan/
Details for graphics
Palar originates from Nandhi Durgh Hills in Karnataka. It flows for 93 kms in the state. A total of 18 check dams were constructed across Palar in Karnataka.
It flows for 33 kms in AP. 22 check dams have been constructed across the river in the stretch.
It flows for 222 kms in TN and confluences at Vayalur in Kancheepuram. There is nil number of check dams.
Water flow in Palar since 1996
December 1996 – January 1997: As per readings taken up at Avarankuppam, there was water flow in Palar during 1996-1997. In September 1996, the river registered 75.20 Mm3 of water and 73.90 Mm3 in October.
Apart from this, there was water flow in Palar in November 1998, October to December 2005, November 24 to December 7, 2015 and August to October 2017.
Palar Anaicut system tanks in Vellore – 150/519 – benefits 14,309.48 hectares of land.
Water storage level as on October 21, 2017
Of 519 PWD tanks, 90 tanks filled up to the optimum level, 53 tanks received 75 percent, 63 received 50 percent water and the remaining 380 tanks below 50 percent.
Palar Anaicut system tanks in Kancheepuram – 12 PWD tanks benefiting 1,927.88 hectares of land./eom/shan/
