Farmers demand release of 4 tmc water to Bavanisagar Dam

The farmers have demanded that the district administration should recommend to the government to get 4 TMC of water from the hydroelectric dams to the Bavanisagar dam.
The Erode district level farmers' grievance meeting was held in the district collector office under the chairmanship of district collector Rajagopal Sunkara on Friday. District Revenue Officer S. Santoshini Chandra and various department officials participated in the meeting.
 The representatives of the Farmers Unions- KR Sudantararasu, Nallasamy, Thalapathi, Periyasamy, Eswaramoorthi, VP Gunasekaran etc-who participated in the meeting said: Due to the large number of deer in the Arachalur reserve forest, there is movement of leopards. Now leopards are hunting livestock. The district forest department should take steps to erect cages to catch the leopards and release them into the forest area before they started hunting humans. A large amount of tapioca cultivation has been done in the district. Mealy bug attacks have been increasing in recent times in the crop. A ton of is currently selling up to Rs.12000.  The price is falling due to adulteration in the sago mills.  Therefore, appropriate measures should be taken to prevent adulteration. As the Central government has fixed the support price for wheat, the support price for paddy should also be fixed. Steps should be taken to use the 100-day NREGS for agricultural work. The ban on tapping toddy  should be removed as in neighboring states. On 21st January, toddy will be tapped  and marketed. As the water reserve in Bhavanisagar dam is enough for 20 days only, the government should take appropriate steps to save the standing paddy crops. Unauthorized wells, borewells along the banks of the Kizhbavani Canal should be surveyed and disconnected. Transportation of water from the Kizhbavani Canal to Perundurai SIPCOT factories should be prevented. The banks of Thadapally canal should be strengthened. According to the court order in the district, encroachments on water bodies should be removed. In the Kalingarayan canal irrigation, the water should be opened in order to save the remaining crops such as sugarcane and turmeric. A concrete floor should be laid across the canal. Copra procurement should be done. It has been estimated that 30 percent of the Western Ghat has alien plants. It hit the fertility of the forest. As a result, wild animals are leaving the forest and coming to the plains. Therefore, under the 100-day work plan, steps should be taken to eliminate foreign plants in the forest. The lands of the tribal people in the hilly areas are being encroached upon by the people of the plains. There has been a lot of encroachment, especially in the Asanur hill area. This should be restored by the district administration. In Tottakombai hill village, 83 people have not been issued land title deeds. Sale of banned pesticides is high in hilly areas. 
The overflow channel from Anthiur Lake has been encroached and needs to be gauged and restored. In order to save the paddy crops in the lower Bhavani irrigation, the government should recommend to get 4 TMC water from the hydroelectric dams on the upper side of the Bhavanisagar dam to the Bavanisagar dam. 
In 2001, when there was a similar water shortage, water was obtained from hydroelectric dams. At least 2 TMC of water should be obtained immediately. 
The purchase price of paddy should be hiked as in Kerala where paddy is purchased at a price of Rs.2,850 per quintal.