Tiruppur Farmers Protest Project Delays
Over 500 farmers in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, staged a protest demanding a clear completion timeline for the Anamalaiyaru–Nallaru water project. The delay is causing significant uncertainty for farmers who depend on the project for irrigation and agricultural stability in the region.
The roots of the current protests stretch back to the 1958 Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) agreement between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This agreement included provisions for the Anamalaiyaru–Nallaru project, which was contingent on Kerala first constructing the Idamalayar Dam. Kerala completed the Idamalayar Dam in 1985, opening the door for Tamil Nadu to begin work on the Anamalaiyaru and Nallaru dams. However, for nearly four decades, the project has seen minimal progress, which farmers attribute to the "negligence of successive governments." This decades-long delay has left a crucial water source untapped. The stalled project has significant consequences for the region's water security. During years of heavy rainfall, an estimated 8.5 tmc ft of surplus water flows into the sea, a substantial loss for the water-scarce districts of Tiruppur and Coimbatore. The completion of the dams would secure this water, providing irrigation to over 2.5 lakh acres of farmland. Inter-state negotiations between Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been ongoing, with numerous official-level talks held in recent years to resolve the impasse. A key sticking point has been Kerala's reported demand for an increased share of water from the project. Despite these discussions, a final agreement to move forward with construction has not been reached. In 2018, the Tamil Nadu government formed a five-member expert committee to conduct a feasibility study, a move some farmers criticized as a further delaying tactic since project details were already available. More recently, a detailed project report for the renovation of the larger Parambikulam-Aliyar Project was prepared with a projected cost of ₹4,500 crore, while the Anamalaiaru and Nallaru dams themselves were previously estimated to cost ₹1,540 crore. The project also holds the potential for significant power generation, with plans for two sub-stations that could produce up to 350 MW of electricity. This, combined with the agricultural benefits, underscores the substantial economic loss the continued delays represent for the region. Farmers are now demanding that any party coming to power after the upcoming elections provide a definitive timeline for the project's implementation.
