A large contingent of farmers from the Lower Bhavani irrigation command area in Erode has demanded equitable distribution of water from the Bhavanisagar dam across all three major canal systems, pressing the Tamil Nadu government to scrap the existing staggered release schedule and ensure simultaneous supply to the Lower Bhavani, Thadapalli-Arakkankottai, and Kalingarayan canal schemes. The demand was raised at a farmers' meeting on 15 July, with growers alleging that the current rotation system has systematically disadvantaged the Lower Bhavani command area for years.

How the Staggered Schedule Works — and Why Farmers Oppose It

Under the existing arrangement, the Thadapalli-Arakkankottai canal receives water in April, the Kalingarayan canal in June, and the Lower Bhavani canal only in August — by which point the critical cultivation season is already well underway. Farmers argue this sequencing leaves them perpetually behind the cropping calendar, with no room to recover lost growing time.

According to the farmers, the delayed releases have caused the Lower Bhavani region to lose eight cultivation cycles of paddy and 16 cycles of pulse crops over the years — a cumulative blow that has translated into severe and recurring financial losses.

Drought Conditions Deepen the Crisis

Beyond crop failures, the region is reportedly grappling with acute drought conditions, with drinking water scarcity worsening across several villages. The Bhavanisagar dam is a critical source of drinking water for lakhs of residents spread across Erode, Tirupur, and Karur districts, in addition to irrigating thousands of hectares under crops such as paddy, sugarcane, turmeric, banana, and coconut.

This comes amid a broader pattern of water stress in Tamil Nadu's agricultural heartland, where erratic monsoons and ageing irrigation infrastructure have compounded the pressure on farmers dependent on reservoir-fed canals.

What Farmers Are Demanding

The farmers have called on the Water Resources Department to shift to an acreage-based water allocation model — distributing irrigation supply in proportion to the land area covered under each canal system, rather than maintaining the current time-based rotation. They also demanded that water be released simultaneously to all three canal schemes in line with the guidelines laid down by the water tribunal, arguing such a framework would ensure fairness and reduce recurring inter-canal disputes.

Association Leader Warns of Continued Agitation

V. Nallasamy, leader of the Lower Bhavani Irrigation Farmers' Association, said farmers would no longer accept what he described as delayed and discriminatory water releases. 'Farmers under all three canal systems deserve their fair share and the ability to plan agricultural operations without uncertainty,' he said, urging the district administration and the Water Resources Department to act without further delay.

With sowing seasons at stake and drought conditions intensifying, the pressure on Tamil Nadu's irrigation authorities to revisit the Bhavanisagar release schedule is set to mount in the weeks ahead.