Desilting to be completed by May-end in Tiruchi district

Desilting of irrigation canals, which is set to begin in the district on Saturday, would be completed by end of May, well ahead of the water release from the Mettur reservoir.

Desilting of irrigation canals, which is set to begin in the district on Saturday, would be completed by end of May, well ahead of the water release from the Mettur reservoir.

Disclosing this at the monthly farmers grievances redress meeting held here on Friday, M. Pradeep Kumar, District Collector, said that irrigation canals for a cumulative length of about 375 km would be cleared of silt by the Water Resources Department (WRD) in the district this year.

“Although the deadline is June 12, the usual date for opening of the Mettur Dam, we plan to complete the works much earlier. Apart from constituting farmers committees to oversee the desilting, a mobile App has been launched to monitor the works. Photographs depicting the canals before and after the desilting works will be uploaded in the App for effective monitoring,” Mr.Pradeep Kumar informed farmers’ representatives at the meeting.

A section of the farmers’ representatives urged the district administration to take steps to renovate the Uyyakondan canal, especially the city stretch of the canal, which runs for more than 70 km from Pettavaithalai to Vazhavanthankottai in Tiruchi district and beyond in Thanjavur district.

Ayilai Sivasuriyan, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the Communist Party of India (CPI), said a proposal to renovate the canal was awaiting sanction of funds and urged the district administration to execute the project in phases. Koundampatti R. Subramanian, deputy secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, said the flow of sewage into the canal on its urban stretches were adversely affecting farmers and sought effective steps to clean up the canal on the city stretch.

V.Chidambaram, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the CPI (M), called upon the WRD to ensure that the bed-level of desilted canals do not go below the level of sluices through which water flows to the fields.

The Bharatiya Kisan Sangam and farmers wing of the Tamil Maanila Congress called upon the State government to withdraw the Bill to enact the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Projects) Act. N.Veerasekaran, State Secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Sangam, said the proposed law would endanger the survival of small waterbodies and stakeholders would be adversely affected. S. Selvam, district secretary of farmers wing of the TMC, in a representation, said tanks and ponds could be taken over by private investors and the law could be misused.