Outfits protest construction of check dams on Siruvani

Coimbatore: Representatives of various political parties blocked buses from Kerala at SETC Bus Terminal in Gandhipuram on Wednesday morning, urging the state government to take steps to prevent the Kerala government from constructing check dams on the Siruvani river.More than 70 members from Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, Congress, VCK, Tamil Puligal, SDPI, and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and other outfits raised slogans against the Kerala government.Ku Ramakrishnan, general secretary of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, said the Kerala government has been infringing on water rights of Tamil Nadu. “The Siruvani is an important source of drinking water to Coimbatore and its surrounding areas. Earlier, the Kerala government had reduced the maximum water storage level in the Siruvani dam by 5ft. The action led to reduced storage of water during monsoon resulting in water shortage in Coimbatore in the summer.”The Kerala government is about to complete the construction of a check dam at Nellipathy. It also plans to construct two more check dams on the river. “The Tamil Nadu government should prevent the Kerala government from constructing the check dams. If it fails, we will stage massive protests on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border,” Ramakrishnan said.A large number of police personnel were deployed at the bus terminal to prevent any untoward incidents. Protesters were detained for a short time and released later.
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