The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Karnataka should release water into Palar River: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 18, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Karnataka should release water into Palar River: Minister

Staff Reporter

To mitigate the sufferings of people in Vellore and Kancheepuram districts

VELLORE: Agriculture Minister K. Pandurangan said he was in favour of building up a case for asking the Karnataka Government to release water from the Bethamangalam reservoir into the Palar River. This will mitigate the acute water scarcity faced by people of Vellore and Kancheepuram districts. He wanted farmers in the two districts to unite for the cause as in the case of the Cauvery delta farmers.

Addressing farmers at the monthly agriculturists' grievances day meeting at the Collectorate here on Friday, Mr. Pandurangan said the Palar River, on which the people of Vellore and Kancheepuram districts depended for their irrigation and drinking water needs had acquired the name, `Pazhar' (a polluted river). Though Palar emanated from Karnataka, a major portion — 250 km of the 350 km long river passed through Tamil Nadu. ``The Karnataka Government has used the Palar only as its flood outlet, and the river used to get water only when the Bethamangalam reservoir was full."

As in the case of the Cauvery, there ought to have been an agreement several decades ago between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on the sharing of Palar water.

Referring to the pest attack on the coconut crop in Tamil Nadu, Mr.Pandurangan said the Coconut Development Board, Kochi, had granted Rs.9.5 crores as compensation to the 2.5 crore coconut farmers in Tamil Nadu. This amount had been fully spent.

He had told the Chairperson of the CDB that all States where the farmers were affected should make coordinated efforts to facilitate simultaneous application of the recommended chemicals on the affected coconut trees so that the disease was effectively controlled.

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