Tamil Nadu - Nagercoil   

End Neyyar water row: ryots

P.S. Suresh Kumar

Farmers from Kanyakumari district to meet Kerala Chief Minister today

Nagercoil : Farmers from nine revenue villages in Vilavancode taluk in Kanyakumari district have urged the Government to find out an early solution to the Neyyar water row between the Tamil Nadu and the Kerala Governments.

They say that it is possible, owing to the change of guard in Kerala, after the Left Democratic Front headed by V.S. Achuthanandan assumed office.

The representatives of All Farmers' Associations cutting across party lines will meet Mr. Achuthanandan, who is scheduled to visit Kanyakumari district to attend a regional public meeting on Sunday, to mount pressure on him to ensure the welfare of the farmers belonging to Vilavancode, Paacode, Anducode, Idaicode, Kulappuram, Methukumpal, Aurudesam, Ezudesam and Kollencode by releasing water to the left side channel of the Neyyar dam.

The district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Noor Mohammed, said a solution was in sight, thanks to the change of guard in Kerala. The secretary of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, Pandaram Pillai, hoped that a mutual agreement would be arrived between the two Governments.

The dam is the source of water supply for the Kanyakumari branch channel and situated in Neyyatinkarai taluk in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala.

The right side channel taking off from the dam irrigates the ayacut in Kerala and the capacity of the channel is 300 cusecs. The left side channel taking off from the dam irrigates the ayacut both in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The designed capacity of the left side channel is also 300 cusecs. The Kanyakumari branch channel takes off from the left side channel.

The ayacut originally proposed under this Kanyakumari branch channel comprised 9,200 acres but the farmers developed 3,370 acres so far. As the water sharing arrangement, signed by the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, K. Kamaraj, and his counterpart in Kerala, Shankar, lapsed in 1962, rules and regulations for the Neyyar irrigation system were sent by the Government of Kerala in 1968.

However, the State Government considered entering into an agreement on this with the Kerala Government and accordingly, sent a draft agreement but Kerala's reply is awaited.

According to the proposed agreement and also as per rules of regulation of the Neyyar irrigation system sent by the Kerala Government, a normal supply of 152 cusecs is to be made available at Kollencode head works, including two cusecs for the ayacut in Kerala lying under the Kanyakumari branch. In case during the failure of the monsoon, supply should be effected between the two States in the ratio of 1:3.

However, in practice, even 107 cusecs is not received in Kanyakumari branch channel. Only an average of 32 to 75 cusecs is received in spite of the request for increasing the supply. A delegation of CPI (M) met the then Chief Minister, Oomen Chandy, regarding the release of water, but nothing fruitful came out the meeting.

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End Neyyar water row: ryots

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