The Cauvery Padugai Farmers Federation has urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to construct a barrage with shutters and a two-lane road between Marudur on the river’s southern bank and Umayalpuram on the northern bank in Karur district, saying the project could expand irrigation and help manage surplus floodwater.
Federation president S. Jeyaraman made the appeal in a memorandum, arguing that increasingly erratic monsoons linked to global warming have made it necessary to store and regulate excess flows in the Cauvery during the rainy season. The federation said the river carries surplus water between August and December, when flood flows can increase sharply.
According to the memorandum, an average of 50 TMC feet of water drains into the sea through the Kollidam river during flood periods. The federation has proposed using part of this seasonal flow through a barrage equipped with shutters, allowing water to be stored and released in a controlled manner.
The Public Works Department has identified the Marudur-Umayalpuram location as a possible site for such a structure, the report said. The proposed barrage would include a two-lane road across the Cauvery, alongside facilities to retain and regulate water. The memorandum does not state that the project has received administrative approval, financial sanction or a construction schedule.
The federation estimates that the barrage could store between two and three TMC of water at the site. It said the stored water could support irrigation across an additional 44,000 acres in the Kulithalai, Musiri, Mannachanallur and Srirangam taluks.
The proposed irrigation expansion would cover areas across several administrative jurisdictions on both sides of the Cauvery system. The federation said more than 25,000 farmers and 50,000 farm workers or agricultural labourers could benefit directly and indirectly if the additional irrigation potential is created.
The demand combines two infrastructure functions: seasonal water storage and a road crossing over the river. The federation has presented the road as part of the barrage proposal rather than as a separate bridge project. Any decision on the structure would therefore involve assessment of water storage, controlled releases, river-flow conditions and the design and operational requirements of the proposed crossing.
The memorandum places the demand within the wider challenge of managing rainfall that is concentrated into shorter or less predictable periods. However, the report does not provide details of a technical feasibility study, estimated project cost, land requirements, environmental clearances or the response of the state government and Public Works Department.
The next step sought by the federation is consideration of its memorandum by the Chief Minister and relevant state departments. No official decision or implementation timeline had been reported at the time of publication.
