ASI urges State not to demolish 743-year-old Kalingarayan Canal aqueduct in Erode

ASI urges preservation of Erode's historic 743-year-old Kalingarayan Canal aqueduct amid plans for its demolition.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has urged the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Conservation and Rivers Restoration Corporation Limited (TNWRC and RRC) not to demolish the 743-year-old aqueduct of the Kalingarayan Canal across the Perumpallam canal in Erode city, which is proposed to be replaced with a new structure in April 2026.

In a letter dated March 5, 2026, the Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai Circle, wrote to the Chairman and Managing Director of TNWRC and RRC requesting that the aqueduct, considered a heritage structure, be preserved. The ASI also said it was willing to provide technical support for repair, renovation or conservation, if its assistance was sought.

The aqueduct forms part of the historic Kalingarayan Canal system built by Kongu chieftain Kalingarayan, who ruled Poondurai Nadu. He constructed a barrage across River Bhavani at Kalingarayanpalayam between 1270 and 1282, from where water is diverted through a 91.10-km-long canal that joins River Noyyal at Kodumudi. The canal currently irrigates about 15,743 acres in the district and has a 41-metre-long aqueduct, also known as Karai Vaikkal, with 14 vents across the Perumpallam canal in the city.

The Water Resources Department (WRD), through Government Order No. 39 dated July 24, 2025, approved renovation works for the canal stretch from mile 12-3-348 to mile 15-4.5-195 at an estimated cost of ₹83.30 crore. As the aqueduct has been found to be structurally unsafe and leakages have increased over the years, the project proposes demolition of the existing aqueduct and construction of a new one.

However, farmers’ associations, historians and members of the public have urged the government to construct a new aqueduct near the existing structure and declare the present one a protected monument.

Representations were made to Minister for Housing, Prohibition and Excise S. Muthusamy and Erode Collector S. Kandasamy seeking protection for the structure. Modakkurichi MLA C. Saraswathi and Kalingarayan Farmers and Workers Welfare Association secretary A. Nallasamy also submitted petitions to the ASI requesting that the aqueduct be preserved.