Farmers ‘impound’ earth mover, truck for destroying irrigation tank bed in Sivarakottai

Farmers have complained that a contractor has destroyed Sivarakottai Karisalkulam irrigation tank by digging deep into the tank bed to quarry soil, in violation of the conditions laid by the district administration.

Villagers of Sivarakottai had ‘impounded’ an earth mover and a truck on Wednesday, but the police had not registered any case against the violators.

Madurai District Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar had given permission on January 9, to the contractor to quarry earth for construction of flyovers on Madurai-Tirunelveli highway between Madurai and Kayathar.

As per his proceedings, the contractor was permitted to dig only the elevated portions of the tank bed to scoop out 1,000 cubic metres of earth. Water Resources Department had stipulated that the tank bed should be dug up only to a depth of one metre on the earmarked portion across the tank.

“However, the contractor had allegedly employed earth mover and dug up for 21 feet. They have scooped out the black cotton soil and had attempted to remove the rocks that form the bed of the tank,” complained a leading farmer M. Ramalingam (76).

He said that the rock holds the water in the tank supplied through the channels. “If it is removed, the water will seep through into the bed leaving the farmers in a lurch without adequate water to raise the crops,” he said.

The contractor had the audacity to dig the tank bed deep below the sill level of the sluices. “Such deep gorges will hold the water and not allow to flow through the sluices for irrigation,” he said.

The entire process of giving permission for quarrying in the tank was given to the contractor without the knowledge of the local farmers and villagers.

The farmers had opposed to the proposal and gave a petition to the Tahsildar as similar quarries permitted in the past have annihilated other tanks like Nesaneri, Karisalkalampatti, and Subbulapuram, in the vicinity that had badly affected irrigation. “Besides, the villagers have passed a resolution against quarrying of the tank at the Grama Sabha meeting held on January 26,” he added.

Though the contractor has violated many of the conditions laid for quarrying, Revenue, WRO and Mines officials, were not taking any action against the contractor, the farmers charged.