Kalingarayan Canal ayacut farmers staging a sit-in-protest on the Erode Collectorate premises in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: GOVARTHAN M.
Members of the Kalingarayan Farmers and Workers Welfare Association, led by its president P.K. Sethuraja, staged a sit-in protest on the Collectorate campus here on Wednesday (September 23, 2026), seeking release of water for irrigation through the Kalingarayan Canal.
The farmers said, usually, water was released into the canal continuously for 315 days every year, from June 16 to April 30. However, this year, owing to construction works and water shortage in the Bhavanisagar dam, only a limited quantity was released to save standing crops, which was inadequate for cultivation.
About 1.5 tmcft of water remained in the dam after releases for irrigation, the farmers claimed. Seepage water was flowing into the Bhavani river during the monsoon. If the available water in the dam and the seepage water were used efficiently, it could provide water for nearly one crop, they said.
The farmers said their representations to Water Resources Department (WRD) officials seeking the release of water from October 1 yielded no result. They urged the WRD to make arrangements to release the available water through the Kalingarayan Canal from October 1 and threatened to go on an indefinite fast if their demand was not met. More than 20 farmers took part in the protest, which was later withdrawn.
Published – September 23, 2026 07:14 pm IST
