Poor inflow into Mettur Dam hits livelihood of fishermen

The continuous poor inflow into the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur has affected the livelihood of a large number of inland fishermen of the villages along the banks of River Cauvery.

Ever since the shutters of the Stanley Reservoir were closed for the farm operations in the Cauvery basin by the end of January, the release of water from the dam remained just about 500 cuses for meeting the drinking water needs of various districts.

The River Cauvery is totally dry and posing a look of small canal in Sekkanur, Poolampatti, Koneripatti and Kalvadangam areas near Edappadi town. The farmers of these areas, who totally depend on the Cauvery water, have already abandoned the farm operations.

These areas accounted for a large number of inland fishermen who make their both ends meet with the income fetched through fishing in the River Cauvery. When the river carried heavy flow of water, the fishermen used to get good catch of fish varieties such as vilangu, kendai and kezhuthi.

With the river posing a dry look for the past three months due to very meagre discharge from Mettur Dam, the livelihood of these fishermen has become a big question mark. With the next academic year to begin soon, they have to meet the educational expenses of their wards. “We knew nothing except fishing activities. The unprecedented drought and the dry river bed has financially hit us to a big extent”, observed a cross-section of fishermen of villages near Edappadi.

The fishermen said that at present their very suruvival is a big question mark and they have to wait till the next monsoon period to re-stabilise themselves once again.

The dry Cauvery has not only hit the fishermen, but also the livelihood of a large number of people involved in fish trading and the cooli workers in the transportation of the fish stock to other centres.

The Koneripatti fish market is a major market of the district, which used to be buzzing with traders and consumers every day. The traders and the fish lovers from different parts of Salem and Erode districts used to throng the Koneripatti market for different fish varieties. The market is at present posing a deserted look, due to the total suspension of fishing activity in the villages on the Cauvery banks.

The fishermen have demanded the state government to sanction adequate financial assistance to them with immediate effect taking into consideration their plight and economic conditions.