Water from Thirumoorthy dam was released into the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) canal system on Wednesday to irrigate 94,201 acres in the second-zone command areas of the Palaru riverbed, with the supply scheduled to continue until January 3, 2027, subject to demand.
Minister for medical and family welfare Dr K G Arunraj released the water and appealed to farmers to use it judiciously while cooperating with the Water Resources Department in managing distribution. The release is intended to support agricultural land across Udumalpet, Madathukulam, Palladam, Dharapuram and Kangayam taluks in Tirupur district, as well as Pollachi and Sulur taluks in Coimbatore district.
Under a government order issued on the directions of the chief minister, water will be released for 60 days during the period from November 4, 2026, to January 3, 2027. The release will take place at intervals and will be based on demand. The total quantity for the second-zone command areas has been capped at 3,500 million cubic feet, including conveyance losses.
The PAP main canal received water at a rate of 250 cusecs on Wednesday. This flow will be increased in stages up to the canal’s full capacity of 912 cusecs. The staged increase allows the Water Resources Department to manage the movement of water through the canal system while releases are adjusted to requirements.
A separate release has also been sanctioned for old ayacut areas under the Thali canal. These areas cover 3,076.36 acres and will receive water during the same period, with the total release limited to 250 million cubic feet, including losses, based on requirement. On Wednesday, the Thali canal received water at 20 cusecs.
The release places distribution management at the centre of the irrigation schedule. Farmers have been asked to use the allocated water carefully as the supply is spread across multiple command areas and will be released in intervals rather than continuously. The government order specifies that the volumes will depend on demand, while the minister has sought cooperation from farmers and local stakeholders during distribution work.
District collector C Muthukumaran presided over the release event. Dharapuram MLA P Sathiyabama, Udumalpet revenue divisional officer Kumar, Water Resources Department superintending engineer M Karthikeyan, executive engineer Prabhakaran, assistant executive engineer Sakthikumar and assistant engineer Ramachandran were among those present. Water Resources Department officials, farmers’ association representatives and farmers also attended.
The scheduled releases will serve agricultural holdings spread across two districts and seven taluks. The next operational milestone is the planned increase of the PAP main canal flow from 250 cusecs towards its full capacity of 912 cusecs, while releases through both canals continue within the sanctioned quantities until January 3, 2027.
