Farmers in Tirupur district have announced an indefinite hunger strike from October 29, demanding irrigation water for about 1,500 acres at the tail-end of the Parambikulam–Aliyar Project’s Vellakovil branch canal system.
The protest will be held at the premises of the PAP Vellakovil Branch Canal (Kangayam–Vellakovil) Water Conservation Association on Karur Road at the Bhagavathipalayam Section in Veeranampalayam village, Kangayam. The association took the decision after a meeting at the Water Resources Department’s sub-divisional office in Kangayam reportedly ended without a clear assurance.
The farmers are seeking what they describe as their rightful share of irrigation water under the PAP system. P Jegadeeshwaran, treasurer of the association, said the Vellakovil branch canal command covers 48,000 acres, divided into four zones of 12,000 acres each. Water is generally supplied to two zones in a year, during the January-to-June and June-to-December periods.
According to Jegadeeshwaran, the Kangayam–Vellakovil stretch accounts for one-eighth of the ayacut irrigated from Thirumoorthy dam. However, he said water distribution at the tail end remains incomplete. The association claims that only around 10,500 acres receive water, leaving approximately 1,500 acres consistently without irrigation.
Farmers have also alleged that the quantity drawn per rotation has increased from about 1 TMC to around 2.5 TMC, but that the full quantity does not reach the Vellakovil branch canal. The Water Resources Department has cited theft and unaccounted losses, according to the association. Farmers, however, have demanded equitable distribution of PAP water from Coimbatore through the Tirupur–Karur border in accordance with the applicable rules.
Association president P Velusamy said farmers had pursued protests and legal remedies for more than five years over the issue. The association has alleged that some branch canals are drawing between 30% and 60% more water than their sanctioned limits, citing official PAP data. These claims were reported by the Times of India and were not independently verified in the supplied material.
The association has also sought an increase in the water level at the Vellakovil branch canal’s zero point from 4.5 feet to 4.8 feet. Farmers are demanding a seven-day rotational supply at each sluice gate, similar to the system followed in other PAP command areas. They have also called for implementation of the PAP Act, 20 of 1993, and directions issued by the Madras High Court.
The PAP system irrigates about 4.25 lakh acres across Coimbatore and Tirupur, while Thirumoorthy dam alone is reported to irrigate around 3.77 lakh acres. The proposed protest places the dispute within a larger irrigation administration challenge: ensuring that water released into a large canal network reaches tail-end users according to sanctioned allocations and rotation schedules.
The farmers’ association is expected to begin the indefinite hunger strike on October 29 unless its demands receive a clear response from the Water Resources Department. The immediate issues before the department are the proposed rotational schedule, the zero-point water level and the reported shortfall affecting the 1,500-acre tail-end area.
