Farmers staging a sit-in-protest outside the office of the District Revenue Officer at the Collectorate in Erode on Tuesday
| Photo Credit: M. Govarthan
Around 50 farmers dependent on the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) canal resumed their protest in front of the office of the District Revenue Officer (DRO) in Erode on Tuesday (August 11, 2026), demanding the immediate issuance of a government order (G.O.) for the release of water into the canal.
On August 6, more than 500 farmers from Erode, Karur, and Tiruppur districts had assembled on the Collectorate premises, carrying withered sugarcane plants, and urged the State government to release water into the LBP canal to save standing crops. The farmers said the failure of the Southwest monsoon had left the crops under severe moisture stress. They sought the release of water to protect crops raised on about 2.07 lakh acres in the LBP command area and to safeguard drinking water sources dependent on the canal.
The farmers had temporarily called off the protest after District Revenue Officer S. Santhakumar assured them that a government order for the release of water would be obtained by August 11.
Based on the assurance, around 50 farmers reached the Collectorate on Tuesday to enquire about the status of the order. However, they alleged that officials again cited delays and failed to provide a clear response. Following this, the farmers resumed their agitation and began a protest in front of the DRO’s office in the afternoon. They said they would continue the protest until the government order was issued.
At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the water level in Bhavanisagar Dam stood at 58.51 feet against its full reservoir level of 105 feet. The reservoir had a storage of 6.78 tmc ft against its full capacity of 32.8 tmc ft. The inflow was 3,405 cusecs and the total outflow was 905 cusecs.
Published – August 11, 2026 02:57 pm IST
