Tamil Nadu: Attend to lake sluices immediately, plug water leakage, Perambalur farmers tell authorities

PERAMBALUR: Flagging alleged negligence of the lakes maintained by the District Rural Development Agency leading to wastage of water meant otherwise for irrigating farmlands in the district, farmers demand urgent maintenance and repair work on the sluices of such waterbodies ahead of the onset of the monsoon.

While the authorities concerned said the 134 lakes maintained by the agency in the district are rejuvenated before every monsoon, farmers claim otherwise. Mentioning the sluices of lakes in several villages such as Sillakudi, Sathanur, Moongilpadi, Kadur, Olaippadi, Karkudi and Nattarmangalam lying in disuse owing to damage, locals point out how despite level rise in several of the waterbodies following heavy rains, the water gets wasted in some due to lack of maintenance.

R Rajockiyam, a resident of Sillakudi said, "Aladi lake, spread over about 44 acres in our village, was used only for irrigation and to quench livestock’s thirst. Paddy cultivation over nearly a hundred acres benefited from lake irrigation. Deficit rainfall and poor maintenance, however, led to its feeder canals and sluice to fall into a state of neglect.

As a result, there is no irrigation in the area without enough supply to the lake and, in turn, from it. The waterbody is also ridden with seemai karuvelam growth. Many farmers therefore switched to maize and cotton cultivation instead of paddy.” G Thiyagarajan, a farmer from Moongilpadi said, "We commenced paddy cultivation last year after a 12-year wait for water in Periyayeri. Authorities have to, however, maintain the lakes so that we benefit every year.

As the lake’s sluice is damaged, we have made stopgap arrangements to regulate water supply. The authorities concerned should inspect the sluice and come up with a permanent solution." When contacted, Superintendent at the office of Assistant Director of Rural Development (Panchayat) Rajendran refused to divulge information to TNIE saying that he is not aware of lake details and their upkeep.