Water Management in Changing Times S. Duraipandi*
Introduction Water is becoming a prizable commodity in recent days as its availability is decreasing day by day. So it needs conservation and judicious utilisation. There are large number of tanks in Tamil Nadu and they need to be taken care of in order to keep the system functional. Now-a-days, scientists, researchers and well-wishers of agriculture stress the need for proper utilisation of water. The Government, and NGOs also reiterate this. In the past, the farmers appointed Neerkattis to look after the tank irrigation. But the system of appointing Neerkatti is being followed only in a few tanks at present due to non co-operation from farmers. As the farmers fail to take enough care for water distribution and as they themselves take up irrigation activities on their own, failure of crops is very common. The following assessment is made after studying the lesson learnt by the farmers’ association of Parambur tank, in Pudukottai district on their water distribution system.
Village Profile Parambur village is situated 22 km from Pudukottai on the Pudukottai Manaparai road. The Parambur tank is located in the southern direction at a distance of 500 m from the village. The ayacut area of the tank is
*
Project Executive, DHAN Foundation, Kottampatti, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 72