Govt to move court against check dam across Siruvani

Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu government is planning to approach the court to restrain Kerala from building check dams across the Siruvani river, state municipal administration minister K N Nehru said.
“The water resources minister (Duraimurugan) had said that TN would approach the court. Now, he is taking efforts in that regard,” Nehru told reporters in Coimbatore on Monday.
Nehru was in Coimbatore to lay the foundation stone for 860 crore underground drainage project for added areas of the city corporation like Vadavalli, Veerakeralam, Thudiyalur and Kavundampalayam.
He also inaugurated completed projects worth 140 crore in Coimbatore and Pollachi. State electricity minister V Senthil Balaji was also present at the inaugural event.
He told reporters that the state government was addressing issues concerning water sharing with Kerala at various levels. The state government has been writing to Kerala in some cases, holding talks in some and taking legal routes in certain cases.
On Kerala government not maintaining full reservoir level in Siruvani dam, one of the key water sources for Coimbatore city, Nehru said chief minister M K Stalin has written to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“We are also talking to them. We have explained about the water shortage in Coimbatore due to Kerala’s action,” he said. Though the full reservoir level is 50 feet, water is allowed to store only up to 45 feet in the Siruvani dam by Kerala authorities.
Even as talks were on for raising the water level in Siruvani dam, Kerala authorities had begun construction of a check dam across Siruvani at Nellipathy, about two kilometres upstream of the confluence point of Siruvani river and Bhavani river. The check dam is intended to store water flowing out of the Siruvani dam, thereby preventing it from draining into Bhavani. PWD officials say 90% of the construction of the check dam has been completed.
Two weeks ago, representatives of political parties including the allies of the ruling DMK staged a protest in Coimbatore against the dam. They alleged that allowing the dam will embolden Kerala to construct more such structures.