Farmers rejoice water release from Aliyar Dam

Coimbatore: News of water being released by the Aliyar Dam spread cheer among farmers of Pollachi and Thirumoorthy Hills. The water is critical for irrigation of paddy wetlands, coconut groves and nurseries too. The release of the water was delayed by more than two weeks due to the model code of conduct being in place for the election.
Chief minister J Jayalalithaa's announcement to release water from the Aliyar Dam from Wednesday afternoon to the five old anaicuts spread cheer to a large number of farmers who cultivate in the area.The water will be released regularly from June 8 for the next 10 months.
"It usually irrigates around 6,400 acres of agricultural land, of which paddy dominates because it turns into a wetland," said a senior public works department engineer. The five anicuts that will receive water is the Pallivilangal Anicut, Ariyapuram Anicut, Karaipatti Anicut, Periyanai Anicut and Vadakkalur Anicut.
The dam's water level stood at 84.65 ft against its storage capacity of 120 ft. The river bed however goes as low as 930ft. Called the Parambikulam Aliyar project, it harnesses the waters from Bharathapuzha, Chalakudi and Periyar basis for power production and irrigation in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The release of water also benefits the many drought prone areas in Coimbatore and Erode in Tamil Nadu and Palghat in Kerala.
The farmers cultivate mainly paddy, coconut and fruits like mango, sapota, Vegetables, nuts and pulses. Cotton is also cultivated in this belt. "The water release is definitely a relief this year because the summer was harsh and south west monsoon is yet to set in," said president of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, A Kandasamy. "The release has already been delayed by two weeks. It is released on May 16 every year," he said.