Stir against check dams on Bhavani halts Coimbatore-Kerala traffic

It is a major source for drinking water and irrigation. Protesting the project MDMK blocked vehicles heading to Kerala through KG Chavadi in Coimbatore on Tuesday. The party’s state youth wing secretary V Eswaran who has been spearheading protests when Kerala initiated such projects said that the State has planned construction of six check dams at a distance of 10 -20 km from the Tamil Nadu border. 

“Construction of the first check dam began five days ago,” he said. “No construction can be initiated across Cauvery or its tributaries without getting the Cauvery Management Board’s nod. But the board is yet to be formed. So the construction is illegal,” he said. Eswaran says that the Kerala Government has not divulged any details about the project. 

“These check dams could be completed in a couple of months and will affect water supply to Coimbatore and nearby districts,” he added. General secretary of Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam (TPDK) Ku. Ramakrishnan who visited the check dam site recently said that a heavy stock of construction materials and earth movers were at the site. 

“It is about 12 feet deep,” he told reporters after chairing an all-party meeting on Tuesday. At the meeting, it was decided to organise a human chain on January 21 and a series of protests to urge the Kerala Government to drop the project. 

“The project should be dropped at least considering it as a source of drinking water for close to 5 lakh Keralites in Coimbatore,” former minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy said. DMK leader said that they would be making joint representations about the issue to the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. 

Representatives of Viduthalai Siruthaikal Katchi, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangam, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, Tamil Puliykal, Social Democratic Party of India, Adi Tamilar Viduthalai Munnani and Kongu Nadu Jananagaya Katchi participated.