An all party meet was hosted in Coimbatore today to discuss on the steps to be taken to prevent the Kerala government from constructing check dams across the Bhavani River in Attappady.
An unanimous decision was taken during this all-party meet to organise a human chain on 21st of January to firmly oppose this move of the Kerala government.
Bhavani River is the perennial source of drinking water and irrigation for three districts including Coimbatore, Erode, and Tiruppur. The river which originates in the Nilgiris district, passes through Kerala before entering again into Tamil Nadu. Sources say, the that the Kerala government is keen on constructing check dams at Attappady, Kerala across the Bhavani river.
Recently, Kerala government attempted to construct dams in Attappadi and Agali in Palakkad districts across the Siruvani river. However, the construction work, came to a standstill following protests from farmers and political parties across the state of Tamil Nadu.
However this time, confirmed reports point out that the Kerala government has started the preliminary work on building 12-feet tall check dams across the Bhavani River at Attapadi which is 30-kms from the Tamil Nadu border. Sources also share that the Kerala government has already purchased the materials like sand, gravels and cement and also a JCB has been brought in for the construction of the check dams.
Back home in Coimbatore, a meeting was hosted at the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam office in Gandhipuram to discuss the course of action that has to be taken with regards to the issue. Major parties of the State like DMK, VCK, Tamil Organisations, Farmers associations, Trade organisations participated in this meeting.
When speaking to the press after the meeting, General Secretary of the TPDK party, Ramakrishnan said, “A human chain protest will be hosted on 21st January to oppose the Kerala government's decision to construct a check dam across the Bhavani River which is the key water source for three districts of Tamil Nadu. Additionally, a protest will be hosted at the construction site on the same day, as decided in this meeting.” he said.