A five-day campaign opposing the proposed Mekedatu dam began at Poompuhar in Mayiladuthurai district on September 20, with farmers’ organisations calling for the project to be stopped and for a dam to be planned at Rasimanal instead.
The campaign has been organised by the Coordination Committee of All Farmers’ Associations. Its president, P.R. Pandian, launched the journey at Poompuhar, near Sirkazhi, and is scheduled to take it through several districts before it concludes in Tiruvarur on September 24.
According to the report, the farmers’ groups are demanding that construction of the Mekedatu dam be prevented, that a dam be considered at Rasimanal and that measures be taken to protect Tamil Nadu from drought. The demands place the campaign within the continuing dispute over the management and sharing of Cauvery river water, which is critical to the agricultural economy of the delta region.
The announced route includes Karaikal, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Salem, Hogenakkal, Kanchipuram, Chennai Egmore, Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Mayiladuthurai. The journey is scheduled to return to Tiruvarur for its closing programme on September 24.
Before the formal launch, P.R. Pandian and representatives of farmers’ associations performed a special prayer and conducted an offering to the Cauvery at the point where the river meets the sea. The ceremony was held at Poompuhar, a coastal settlement in the Cauvery delta and one of the locations associated with the river’s downstream course.
The opening event was chaired by Vettangudi Srinivasan. Vikrama Raja, president of the Tamil Nadu Federation of Traders’ Associations, formally inaugurated the campaign. Ayyakannu, president of the National South Indian Rivers Interlinking Farmers’ Association, and other farmers’ representatives also participated and addressed the gathering.
The campaign’s route connects delta districts, inland locations and major urban centres, indicating that the organisers intend to take the Mekedatu issue beyond individual farming communities. Its demands concern not only the proposed dam but also the wider question of how river infrastructure, drought protection and water availability should be managed across the Cauvery basin.
The report does not provide details of any new government decision on the Mekedatu project or of a formal response from authorities to the campaign. The farmers’ associations are expected to continue their public outreach programmes along the announced route before the campaign ends in Tiruvarur on September 24.
