DHARMAPURI: The Hogenakkal oars men relax in a happy mood though they have lost their income because of the ban issued by the district administration for the coracle services as Cauvery continues to swell.
The inflow into Hogenakkal, which was low for a couple of days, had increased again on Saturday. The water level as measured at Biligundulu by the staffs in Central Water Commission was over 68,000 cusec.
As the water flow did not return to the normal level here in Hogenakkal, the Dharmapuri district administration maintain its order that bans operating coracle services, entering the waterfalls area or the river for taking dip.
This ban order has entered twentieth day since that was issued on July 9 and that affected the livelihood of the local people who mainly depend on the income got from the arrival of the picnickers.
However, the people in Hogenakkal are not worried but feel happy as others in the state because of the dams built across the Cauvery River had reached its fullest storage level.
A total of 1,616 people including 417 fishermen who also act as the oars men, 300 massage boys, and 500 women cooking food have lost their employment due to the present high level of inflows into Cauvery here.
"Each family having oars men who also catch fish during night, oil massaging boys and women cooking food for picnickers will earn not less than rupees 20,000 per month is lost," M.Kemparaj, president for the Hogenakkal coracle operators union told DC.
According to 50-year-old Kemparaj, the local people are not worried over their income loss in recent weeks. He said, “Why should we be in worry when the state celebrates the occasion of our dams that brims and giving back the livelihood of the farmers?”
He added, “we are just few hundred people compared to the farmer population who grow food for us in Cauvery delta districts. Their livelihood was in question because of no water in the past. Now, because of the huge inflows into the dams the farmers are able to revive their agriculture activity.”
