Farmers oppose move to dig wells in Vallimadurai-Varattaru reservoir to supply water to Harur municipality

DHARMAPURI: Farmers have warned that the state govt’s Rs 20crore plan to dig big wells in the "Vallimadurai-Varattaru reservoir area in Dharmapuri to supply more drinking water to Harur municipality will reduce groundwater and affect farming in more than 20 villages, including Achalvadi, Kudumiyampatty and Eettiyampatty. They have warned of boycotting the April 23 assembly election if the govt is going ahead with the project.

According to them, the govt is implementing the project under the Karunanidhi Urban Development Scheme. A bhoomi puja was held in February in the presence of DMK MP Mani. "The purpose of the scheme is to raise daily drinking water supply from 19.5 lakh litre to 29.5 lakh litre to Harur municipality," said G Prakash, a farmer.

The Vallimadurai-Varattaru dam near the Chitheri Hills has a storage level of 34.45 feet. It fills 25 lakes in the area and supports irrigation in around 6,000 acres of farmland.

Locals have launched black flag demonstrations against the project. They have put black flags on their houses and distributed pamphlets explaining the project’s impact. They are planning to display posters calling for an election boycott with the message “No vote for a govt that takes away our livelihood.”

Farmers said water was released for irrigation only last month (February) and accused the govt of betraying them by advancing a project that they described as a “robbery scheme.”