Farmers urge officials to remove encroachers on a stream in Namakkal district

NAMAKKAL: Farmers have urged officials to remove encroachers on a stream near Senthamangalam in Namakkal district. They said encroachment on the stream made farming impossible.Farmers cultivate paddy, sugarcane and banana on more than 1,000 acres of land in Rasakaundanpudur near Senthamangalam.During the rainy season, water from the Nainamalai hills flows though the stream to the Thuthikulam pond near Senthamangalam in the plains. Farmers used water in the pond for farming.“Some locals have encroached on the stream for the last 10 years. The stream was shrunk from 32 feet to five feet due to this,” said V Arun, a villager. He added that as a result, rainwater coming from Nainamalai could not reach the pond during the rainy season.Farmers said no action had been taken even after they complained several times to officials. They urged the district administration to take immediate action to remove the encroachers.