Abstract:
The water resource system of the Kanyakumari district consists of natural and
manmade. There are many streams and rivulets, flowing from the hills and forests.
But many such streams and torrents were harnessed wherever necessary and
arrangements were perpetuated for the proper use of water. Kanyakumari district
has been bestowed by the topography with enormous rivers, and tributaries. In
addition to that more than 3000 tanks are recorded in ayacuts. Kanyakumari
district is gifted with only three percent of the water resources of Tamil Nadu and
they are mainly dependent on the rainfall of two monsoons the southwest
monsoon and North-East monsoon. Water resources as old as a civilization are
practiced in the Kanyakumari district from time immemorial. During the Sangam
age, only the deltaic regions were endowed with water resources. The Neyyar
second stage irrigation scheme was inaugurated in July 1958 when Mr. K.
Kamaraj was the Chief Minister of Madras. It was a long-standing demand of the
people of Vilavancode taluk to make necessary arrangements for irrigation
facilities so that the dry lands on the southwest portion of Vilavancode taluk will
be brought under cultivation. Vilathurai water resource system was one of the
important schemes in Vilavancode taluk of Kanyakumari district. Irenipuram and
the adjacent areas of Vilavancode taluk were dry and drought-hit areas. The
Chittar Pattanankal water resource scheme was started when Baktavatsalam was
the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The Kothaiyar Water Resource System
consists of Kothaiyar, Paraliyar, Chittar I and Chittar II. The Mathur aqueduct
water resource scheme was constructed in 1966 during the Congress
administration when Mr. Bakta Vatsalam was the Chief Minister of the then
Madras Presidency. Hence the people of the Kanyakumari district feel the acute
shortage of water for domestic as well as agricultural purposes. Though the
Government takes steps to remove the encroachments yet these encroachments
are on the increase
