Water shortage looms large as Palar channel cleared for road

Police arrested nearly 100 residents including 25 women of Mottur and nearby villages when they opposed the district administration move to create a sand quarry at Panancholai about 8 kilometres from Vellore. The arrested were released in the evening.

T Sahadevan, former Mottur panchayat president, said they had repeatedly given representations to the district administration against the government’s move to set up the sand quarry at Panancholai, but to no avail.

Former Anaicuttu MLA M Kalaiarasu said, “I helped people of the nearby villages clear the channel in 2015. While the PWD provided earth movers and some funds, villagers gave their tractors. I also used some money from the constituency development funds to clear bushes and weeds and to make the channel usable. We spent around Rs 20 lakh for this work.”

Saduperi is a huge tank which when filled would meet the drinking water needs of Vellore. “If this tank was maintained properly, there would have been no need for the Cauvery drinking water scheme which was launched two years ago,” said a local resident.

“Water from the Palar would have filled up nearly 5 smaller irrigation tanks en route to Saduperi in addition to raising the ground water levels in nearly 25 wayside villages, including Mottur, 

Melamonavoor, Elavampadi, Rangapuram, Kammavarpalayam and Anpoondi,” Kalaiarasu said.

Sahadevan said, “Officials washed of their hands on the issue stating that they were helpless as they had to follow the orders from their top bosses in Chennai.”