Tue May 20 10:52:36 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
Residents of the Ketti Valley in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, India, are reporting localized flooding due to encroachments along two streams that feed the Kattery Dam. Farm owners are accused of narrowing the stream courses by dumping sand and mud to expand their land. This is constricting the waterways and causing floods, even during minor rainstorms, affecting farms and roads. Local residents are urging the revenue department to remove the encroachments. A revenue official stated that the issue has not been brought to the department’s attention and promised to look into it.
**News Article:**
**Encroachments Blamed for Flooding in Ketti Valley, Nilgiris**
**UDHAGAMANDALAM, May 20, 2025** – Localized flooding is plaguing the Ketti Valley in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, with residents pointing fingers at illegal encroachments along streams feeding the crucial Kattery Dam.
According to concerned citizens, farm owners are deliberately narrowing the course of two streams originating from Adhigaratti and Gandhipettai by dumping sand and mud along the banks. This illegal land expansion has dramatically reduced the width of the streams, in some places from 30-50 feet to a mere 10-15 feet.
“People are dumping sand and mud along the banks of the stream in order to increase the size of their land parcels,” said C. Subramani, Councillor of Ward 7 in Adhigaratti town panchayat, who stated he had previously filed a complaint with the Nilgiris district collector.
The affected streams form part of the Kateri hydroelectric system, a historic reservoir dating back to 1902 that still supplies water to the Cordite factory in Aravankadu. The encroachments are not only constricting water flow but are also leading to the construction of unauthorized iron bridges across the waterways.
“All of these encroachments together lead to localized flooding events, which affect not just the farms, whose owners are culpable for encroaching on the stream, but also smaller farmers in the area, whose fields too get flooded even during minor rain storms,” alleged a local resident.
The resulting floods are also causing significant disruption, with rainwater and soil inundating roads and isolating villages in the Ketti Valley. Residents are pleading with the revenue department to take immediate action, remove the encroachments, and restore the natural width of the streams to mitigate the risk of future flooding.
However, a top official from the revenue department in-charge of Coonoor taluk, stated that the issue had not yet been brought to their attention. The official assured the public that they would investigate the matter and seek potential solutions.
The situation highlights the ongoing struggle between development and environmental preservation, with the Ketti Valley serving as a stark reminder of the potential consequences of unchecked land encroachment on vital water resources.
First Piper 