Thrissur: Paddy farmers and public from Chittoor and Nenmara regions of Palakkad district on Friday blocked vehicles carrying goods from Pollachi and other places in Tamil Nadu from morning to 2 pm demanding release of water from Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) to their areas. Water authority officials from Kerala and Tamil Nadu are scheduled to meet on Saturday to discuss the issue.
Nearly 10 checkposts including those at Govindapuram, Meenakshipuram and Gopalapuram were blocked by people living near the border in Palakkad.
Protesters said that due to the poor monsoon they had already lost hope of cultivating paddy and were demanding drinking water as per PAP treaty with Tamil Nadu.
As per the agreement, 7.25 tmc ft of water must be released to Kerala from PAP, but since the second half of January, the water released by TN had come down to less than one-third of the actual amount mentioned in the treaty, protesters
Top officials from district administration, assistant superintendent of police G. Poonguzhali, Chittoor MLA K. Krishnankutty among others held talks with the protesters who were blocking Vannamada Junction near Gopalapuram.
The MLA and officials persuaded the people that the issue will be taken up during the talks to be held on Saturday. Protesters, while calling off the road roko, told officials that if water was not released as per the treaty, they would resume the protest.
MLA Krishnankutty said that state government should take stringent steps and put pressure on Tamil Nadu by not releasing water from dams situated in Kerala to Tamil Nadu.
