“The officials gave the false information in order to circumvent a court order banning any activity within a distance of 200 metres from rivers,” he added. The residents have been protesting against the digging of an open well in the land near the Varattaru river in Thamaraikulam village of Lakshmipuram panchayat to irrigate 200 acres of land since June 21. Water table worriesVillage Panchayat president Karthikeyan alleged that the owners had no intention of handing over the land and the well to the panchayat. The villagers’ concern was that the bore wells around the open well would affect the ground water table and deprive them of water for irrigation. They assured to register the land in favour of the panchayat.

Source: The Hindu August 07, 2017 02:26 UTC