Aliyar Dam - Crucial meeting on Wednesday
Crucial meeting on Aliyar dam row on WednesdayCoimbatore: In the wake of Tamil Nadu farmers demanding a ‘distress sharing formula’ under the Parambikulam Aliyar pact and Kerala accusing Tamil Nadu of violating the agreement, the annual Joint Water Regulation Board (JWRB) meeting between the officials of both the states is to be held in Palakkad on Wednesday.
The clearing of backlog that is due for Kerala under the pact and other issues will come up for discussion in the official-level meeting.
Tamil Nadu will be represented by a team, led by engineer-in-chief Rangaraj Gupta, besides PWD chief engineer Coimbatore M Kalyanasundaram, superintending engineer Pollachi D Thirukuralarasu and deputy superintending engineer P Ramamurthi.
“We’re preparing for the meeting. Though the demands and expectations from the farmers are high on this side of the border, we want it to be cordial and do not want this to end up as another controversy like the Cauvery,” informed sources in the PWD.
The clearing of backlog that is due for Kerala under the pact and other issues will come up for discussion in the official-level meeting.
Tamil Nadu will be represented by a team, led by engineer-in-chief Rangaraj Gupta, besides PWD chief engineer Coimbatore M Kalyanasundaram, superintending engineer Pollachi D Thirukuralarasu and deputy superintending engineer P Ramamurthi.
“We’re preparing for the meeting. Though the demands and expectations from the farmers are high on this side of the border, we want it to be cordial and do not want this to end up as another controversy like the Cauvery,” informed sources in the PWD.
Tamil Nadu had started releasing water from Sholayar since February 6 to clear the backlog (accumulated during the distress years) to the tune of 1837 mcft due for Kerala. The water level at Tamil Nadu Sholayar is 705 mcft. The release is being maintained at 44 mcft a day.
Moreover, Tamil Nadu has to release 7.25 tmcft of water each water year from the Aliyar dam through Manakadavu. As on January 31, 2007, 4.8 tmcft of water has been released. The due now is 2.4 tmcft. The Kerala side demands release of 200 to 600 tmcft, based on their need every fortnight, but there are fluctuations in the supply.
All these issues would be discussed to arrive at an amicable settlement, sources said.
S R Rajagopal, chairman, Confederation of Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) Water Users’ Associations, had recently demanded a ‘distress sharing formula’ to be evolved between the two States.
“How can Tamil Nadu be made accountable for its inability to release water during the distress years?” questioned water users’ association president Paramasivam.
The farmers here are also demanding construction of checkdams. Rajagopal had alleged that Tamil Nadu was not receiving its share of water under the agreement whereas more than the due share was being supplied to Kerala.
Source:Newindpress
