Poor upkeep of Irukkankudi reservoir in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi leaves farmers high and dry

THOOTHUKUDI: Poor maintenance of Irukkankudi reservoir and its channels constructed to irrigate over 10,500 acres of land in Thoothukudi has turned the project, launched 18 years ago, into a nonstarter. The reservoir was built at Irukkankudi village in Virudhunagar district at the confluence of Arjuna and Vaippar rivers. Construction of the reservoir started in 1993 and the project was commissioned in 2004.

The 1,592-metre-long reservoir consists of 21 shutters, is 22.5-ft deep, and can store 500 MCFT (Million Cubic Feet) of water. A 30-km long Irukkankudi channel, built as part of the irrigation system from the reservoir to the tail-end area of Vedapatti village in Thoothukudi, is designed to fill tanks at Melakarandhai, Keezh Nattukurichi and Ayan Vadamalapuram.

The ayacut aims to irrigate 9,156 acres of pulses in 11 villages and 1,274 acres of paddy. While pulses are irrigated directly by the Irukkankudi channel, water for paddy is supplied from the three tanks. Water for irrigation must be released between October and November and in February if the storage level in the reservoir is not less than 11 feet.

The reservoir doesn't have any agricultural command area in Virudhunagar district. Karisal Boomi Vivasayigal Sangam president A Varadharajan told The New Indian Express that the reservoir was built for promotion of pulses cultivation in the hinterlands of Ettayapuram and Vilathikulam taluks.

Though the project was commissioned in 2004, farmers have not used water for irrigation from Irukkankudi channels even once in the past 18 years, he said.

The Water Resources Department had not formed farmers’ associations for the 11 beneficiary villages in order to manage irrigation canals that run through these villages. "Now the canals are damaged even before they can be utilized," he said.

"The 54 acres of wetland paddy supposed to be served by Vadamalapuram irrigation tank has no supply channel yet", said Varadharajan, who is also the president of Vadamalapuram tank paddy farmers association.

Farmers in the region allege that the authorities in Virudhunagar release water only to the three tanks to help paddy cultivation. Water is not released for irrigating pulses crops as there is no authorised aycutdar association for the respective villages to maintain, protect and tap water for irrigation, they said.

Both paddy and pulses farmers would have cultivated crops twice every year if canal infrastructure is maintained well and water was regularly supplied through the channels, they said.

Melakarandhai tank irrigation farmers' association president Balakrishnan said that they cultivate green gram and black gram and minor millet crops instead of paddy because the water released into the tank is not sufficient. "Lack of maintenance has left the channels broken, silted and choked at various places. The tanks too must be restored," he said.

A senior official of Virudhunagar WRD told The New Indian Express that the reservoir had attained its full capacity only a few times as there are two other reservoirs upstream and the dry Virudhunagar district hardly gets normal rainfall. Some water, however, was released during 2010, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2022, he said.

WRD officials have been ignoring the issues faced by farmers as the reservoir falls under Virudhunagar district and the entire irrigation area comes under Ettayapuram and Vilathikulam taluks in Thoothukudi district.

A senior WRD official of Vaippar sub-division of Vilathikulam said he is new to the region and is not aware of the problems besetting the project.

THOOTHUKUDI: Poor maintenance of Irukkankudi reservoir and its channels constructed to irrigate over 10,500 acres of land in Thoothukudi has turned the project, launched 18 years ago, into a nonstarter. The reservoir was built at Irukkankudi village in Virudhunagar district at the confluence of Arjuna and Vaippar rivers. Construction of the reservoir started in 1993 and the project was commissioned in 2004. The 1,592-metre-long reservoir consists of 21 shutters, is 22.5-ft deep, and can store 500 MCFT (Million Cubic Feet) of water. A 30-km long Irukkankudi channel, built as part of the irrigation system from the reservoir to the tail-end area of Vedapatti village in Thoothukudi, is designed to fill tanks at Melakarandhai, Keezh Nattukurichi and Ayan Vadamalapuram. The ayacut aims to irrigate 9,156 acres of pulses in 11 villages and 1,274 acres of paddy. While pulses are irrigated directly by the Irukkankudi channel, water for paddy is supplied from the three tanks. Water for irrigation must be released between October and November and in February if the storage level in the reservoir is not less than 11 feet. The reservoir doesn't have any agricultural command area in Virudhunagar district. Karisal Boomi Vivasayigal Sangam president A Varadharajan told The New Indian Express that the reservoir was built for promotion of pulses cultivation in the hinterlands of Ettayapuram and Vilathikulam taluks. Though the project was commissioned in 2004, farmers have not used water for irrigation from Irukkankudi channels even once in the past 18 years, he said. The Water Resources Department had not formed farmers’ associations for the 11 beneficiary villages in order to manage irrigation canals that run through these villages. "Now the canals are damaged even before they can be utilized," he said. "The 54 acres of wetland paddy supposed to be served by Vadamalapuram irrigation tank has no supply channel yet", said Varadharajan, who is also the president of Vadamalapuram tank paddy farmers association. Farmers in the region allege that the authorities in Virudhunagar release water only to the three tanks to help paddy cultivation. Water is not released for irrigating pulses crops as there is no authorised aycutdar association for the respective villages to maintain, protect and tap water for irrigation, they said. Both paddy and pulses farmers would have cultivated crops twice every year if canal infrastructure is maintained well and water was regularly supplied through the channels, they said. Melakarandhai tank irrigation farmers' association president Balakrishnan said that they cultivate green gram and black gram and minor millet crops instead of paddy because the water released into the tank is not sufficient. "Lack of maintenance has left the channels broken, silted and choked at various places. The tanks too must be restored," he said. A senior official of Virudhunagar WRD told The New Indian Express that the reservoir had attained its full capacity only a few times as there are two other reservoirs upstream and the dry Virudhunagar district hardly gets normal rainfall. Some water, however, was released during 2010, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2022, he said. WRD officials have been ignoring the issues faced by farmers as the reservoir falls under Virudhunagar district and the entire irrigation area comes under Ettayapuram and Vilathikulam taluks in Thoothukudi district. A senior WRD official of Vaippar sub-division of Vilathikulam said he is new to the region and is not aware of the problems besetting the project.