Yuvaraj Ramalingam

BJP Tenkasi district president Ananthan Ayyasamy has taken the Shenbagavalli Anaicut dispute, which has remained unresolved between Tamil Nadu and Kerala for nearly six decades, to the Supreme Court. He has also threatened to organise a massive farmers’ rally to press the two State governments to resolve the issue. A three-judge Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard the matter on Wednesday and adjourned it to November 26. In a statement, Ananthan said that he had approached the Supreme Court seeking activation of the statutory process leading to the constitution of a Water Disputes Tribunal for the restoration of the breached Shenbagavalli Anaicut and Kanyamadagu Channel in the Kerala’s limit. “My petition requests the Supreme Court to direct Tamil Nadu and Kerala to agree on a restoration plan within a fixed period and, failing that, to direct Tamil Nadu to make a request under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, to set the process for constituting a Water Disputes Tribunal in motion,” he said. According to his petition, the diversion weir dates back to 1773, making it more than 250 years old. Built near the confluence of the Chokkampatti and Puliyampatti streams in the Periyar basin, it historically diverted water eastwards through the Kanyamadagu Channel into the Vaippar system in Tamil Nadu. “The system served as a primary source of irrigation and drinking water for farmers and families in Vasudevanallur, Rajapalayam, Sivakasi, Sattur and Vilathikulam constituencies across Tenkasi, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi districts. Flood damage in 1967 stopped the eastward diversion. The water now flows through the Mullaperiyar-Idukki system towards the Arabian Sea instead of reaching southern Tamil Nadu,” he claimed. “Although the Centre had advised bilateral settlement, negotiations produced no restoration. Successive Tamil Nadu governments failed to invoke the statutory Section 3 route after talks reached an impasse. I petitioned former Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi in January 2025, met Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil on August 12, 2026, and used RTI applications to assemble the records. An RTI reply showed that the issue was recommended but omitted from the Southern Zonal Council's final agenda,” he said. “This neglect has harmed farmers across the southern districts. I will organise a massive farmers’ rally to bring the issue directly and urgently to the attention of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments,” he said.