Farmers urge State Government to pursue Anamalayar and Nallar sub-projects of PAP system

The Hindu

11 hours ago

Farmers in the region have urged the State Government to implement the Anamalayar and Nallar sub-projects of Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) system without any time loss, to optimise utilisation of substantial volume of water that otherwise gets drained into Arabian sea at times when the rainfall is heavy.
The PAP agreement of 1958 entailed harnessing 50 tmc ft water from the west flowing rivers that would include Kerala's share of 19.55 tmc ft. The agreement provided for start of Anamalayar project, which would pave way for diversion of 2,500 mcft every year in the PAP system, after construction of Idamalayar Dam by Kerala.
Though the construction of the Idamalayar dam was completed in 1985, Tamil Nadu Government has not still taken steps for pursuing the Anamalayar project, P. Velusamy, president of PAP Vellakovil Branch Canal (Kangayam-Vellakovil) Water Conservation Association, said.
Due to this, as much as 8.5 tmc ft water get drained into the sea during the years of surplus rainfall, he said.
Likewise, the Nallar Neerar project will pave way for substantial increase in irrigation area, and agricultural progress in Coimbatore-Tiruppur districts. It will also reduce the distance of water flow to the Thirumoorthy Dam, minimising loss via evaporation .
In the short-term, the State Government could consider enlarging the extent of flow from Sarkarpathy Power House and Thirumoorthy from 850 to 1500 cusecs, through enhancing the capacity of the contour canal. The government could undertake the task on a war-footing.
Likewise, the government could also explore the utility of pumping of water from the Neerar Catchment to Thirumoorthy Dam directly through pipelines, Mr. Velusamy said, referring to the effective working of the Athikadavu-Avinashi pipeline scheme. There will only be minimal environmental impact, he said.