Villagers besieged the Sivagangai Water Resources Department (WRD) office, condemning the officials for failing to implement the Madras High Court order.The demonstrators pointed out that WRD officials had ignored judicial instructions mandating the release of water from a blocked canal that feeds the Maranthai tank.Maranthai, situated near Kalaiyarkovil in the Sivagangai district, is home to more than 150 families. Local agriculture relied heavily on the WRD tank, which provides irrigation to 150 acres of farmland spread across Maranthai, North Maranthai, and Kodikrai.Consequently, surplus water flows to the Maranthai tank only after the Thalirthalai tank fills up.Because of this, water did not reach the Maranthai tank. Following this, the people of Maranthai persistently urged the opening of the blocked canal.Since the WRD officials failed to take action, they filed a case in the Madras High Court.In this matter, the court ordered that the canal be opened so that water could flow smoothly to the Maranthai tank.As action was not taken even after that, a contempt of court case was filed again. In this case, the court ordered the canal to be opened by July 30.As per that, a few days ago, officials took steps to open the canal.However, since it was not opened properly, complications arose again in the flow of water.As the protesters blocked the WRD office condemning the delay, the employees were stuck outside for close to an hour.As officials assured them an inspection would be conducted and the issue would be solved, the protesters dispersed.However, a farmer named Thiruvasagam from Maranthai said, “If they do not open the canal properly as promised, we will stage a protest again.” Published - July 28, 2026 08:41 pm IST