DHARMAPURI: People of Selvasamuthiram in Dharmapuri district have petitioned chief minister C Joseph Vijay seeking his intervention to restore the Puthu Eri (new lake) in the village as they are facing a severe water crisis.
The lake once irrigated about 1,500 acres of farmland and helped raise the groundwater table through its adjoining channel. The bund of the dam was damaged after soil was taken from the waterbody for the construction of the Varattar Vallimadurai dam construction around 20 years ago. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Salem | Silver Rate in Salem | Bank Holidays in Salem | Public Holidays in Salem | Salem AQI | Weather in Salem Stay updated with the latest Salem news.
Our youth are forced to migrate to other districts and states for work,” said R Murugan, a farmer in the village. S Kumar, another villager, said, “The govt must level the western side of the lake and strengthen the northern bund. The elevated western side of the lake receives no water, causing more than a hundred farm wells to dry up. Farmers who once cultivated paddy, sugarcane and maize have suffered heavy losses. Villagers say no action has been taken despite submitting numerous petitions to former chief ministers, district officials and legislators. Only then can water be stored. Download the TOI App.
Since then, rainwater and surplus water from the dam have drained through the broken channel into the river, leaving the lake dry. “We gave our lake’s soil for construction of the Varattar Vallimadurai dam construction year, but today we don’t even have water to drink and irrigate.