Vellakovil canal farmers called off their indefinite hunger strike on Friday morning after the Water Resources Department assured them that an additional 10 cusecs of water would be released to improve irrigation supplies in tail-end areas of the Parambikulam–Aliyar Project system.
The PAP Vellakovil Branch Canal (Kangayam–Vellakovil) Water Conservation Association began the protest on Thursday, demanding what it described as the rightful share of irrigation water under the Parambikulam–Aliyar Project, or PAP. The association ended the strike after receiving assurances from the department regarding the additional release and future steps to improve distribution.
The dispute centres on the condition and operation of the Vellakovil branch canal and its tail-end distributaries. In a response dated October 21, the executive engineer of the Water Resources Department at Thirumoorthi dam in Udumalpet said the canal network was in a severely dilapidated condition, causing substantial water loss before supplies reached the end of the system.
According to the official response, the main canal located upstream of the Vellakovil branch canal, along with other branch and distributary canals, was drawing water intended for the Vellakovil system. The department also attributed part of the shortfall to seepage and transmission losses caused by the poor condition of the canal network.
The department recommended releasing an additional 10 cusecs through the Vellakovil branch canal to compensate for these losses and help ensure that irrigation water reached tail-end distributaries. The assurance followed concerns raised by farmers over inadequate supplies, which were reported by The Times of India on October 18.
After that report, the superintendent engineer of the Parambikulam–Aliyar Basin Circle in Pollachi sought an explanation from officials. The assistant executive engineer of the department’s ayacut extension sub-division in Kangayam subsequently informed the farmers’ association in writing that a departmental meeting would be held within two days to discuss the additional release.
The written communication also assured the association that 10 cusecs of extra water would be provided and that steps would be taken to ensure equitable irrigation in the future. The department’s account links the immediate supply problem to both distribution across the canal system and physical losses in ageing infrastructure.
The assurance ends the current hunger strike, but the department’s own communication identifies continuing operational and maintenance issues in the Vellakovil branch canal and its distributaries. The next departmental meeting will determine how the additional release is to be implemented and how equitable irrigation is to be maintained across the system.
