Water dispute: villagers asked to approach court

Talks to resolve the ongoing dispute over drawing water from a farm land near Gunderipallam Reservoir and utilising it in another area failed as the District Revenue Officer P. Murugesan asked the opposing people to approach the court.

An individual had dug a well near the reservoir in Gobichettipalayam Taluk and had proposed to use it at farm lands located many km away. People of seven villages in the area said that the move would lead to depletion of ground water in their area and opposed the project. The individual obtained orders from the court for executing the project that irked the people who staged a protest last month.

The DRO chaired a peace meeting at the Collectorate to resolve the issue in which the land owners and the villagers took part. Villagers said that the project would affect 1,700 families as the individual has proposed to draw 3.50 lakh litre water and transfer through pipelines for utilisation in other areas. “It would lead to acute water shortage and the district administration should cancel the permission given for the project”, they said.

However, the land owners said that they had obtained orders from the court and refused to halt the project. The DRO asked the villagers to approach the court as the land owners had obtained court orders. Peace talk failed as villagers said that they could decide their next course of action soon.

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