Farmers from the Lower Bhavani Project canal ayacut areas staging a sit-in-protest demanding water release as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal order on the Erode Collectorate premises in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: GOVARTHAN M.
Farmers under the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) and the Kalingarayan canal irrigation system continued their sit-in protest at the Erode Collectorate on Thursday (August 6, 2026), demanding the immediate release of water from the Bhavanisagar Dam for irrigation.More than 500 LBP ayacut farmers from Erode, Karur and Tiruppur districts assembled outside the office of the Superintending Engineer, Water Resources Department on the Collectorate campus. Carrying withered sugarcane plants, they urged the State government to release life-saving water into the LBP canal. The farmers said the failure of the southwest monsoon had left standing crops under severe moisture stress. They sought the release of water to protect crops raised on about 2.07 lakh acres under the LBP command area and to safeguard drinking water sources dependent on the canal.In a separate demonstration, members of the Kalingarayan Farmers’ Association also staged a sit-in at the Collectorate, pressing for the release of irrigation water to the Kalingarayan Canal. The protesters brought cots, mats and pillows, indicating their decision to continue the agitation until water was released. The association claimed that the 15-day supply of life-saving water recently released into the Kalingarayan Canal, which irrigates around 15,000 acres, was inadequate to sustain crops. It demanded a fresh release from the Bhavanisagar reservoir.As two farmers’ organisations staged separate protests at the Collectorate simultaneously, police deployed additional personnel on the campus as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order. The protest was continuing till Thursday evening. Published - August 06, 2026 07:44 pm IST
