Over 300 people from around 10 villages in Athoor Panchayat Union in Dindigul district, protested for the second day on Friday, threatening to boycott local body polls. They gathered at Hanumantharayankottai and raised slogans against the district administration and demanded that the Kudaganar river be restored.
The villagers raised the issue of the river water being diverted through a check dam to Dindigul town. “The river that originates in the Palani hills serves about 50 tanks in the area and is the drinking water source for much of Athoor Union. The water that comes from the hill was stored in the Kamarajar Sagar lake dam and was released for irrigation and drinking water needs. However, since the past 10 years, a check dam was constructed to divert water towards the town. This has deprived us of water, forcing us to buy water for money,” alleged the villagers.
They added that ever since the course of the Kudaganar river has dried up and the agriculture activities in the area have come to a standstill. “The agriculture in Athoor Union has become totally rain dependent, as the river course has dried up. We have given several petitions to the collector and officials concerned but so far no action has been taken. The drying up of the river bed and tanks has also made it easier for sand quarry mafia to mine loads of sand, leading to a total environmental degradation in the region,” they said.
Though, the Athoor Block Development Officer and revenue officials, held peace talks with the villagers, they did not relent and demanded that the district collector should visit the village and give them an assurance to restore Kudaganar. The villagers said that the 10 villages situated along the river course would boycott the local body elections, if the river was not restored.
