Desilting work completed in Tiruchi district ahead of opening of Mettur dam

With the Mettur dam set to be opened for irrigation on June 12, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has completed the special desilting work taken up on various irrigation and drainage channels across the district sanctioned at an estimated cost of ₹16.70 crore this year

With the Mettur dam set to be opened for irrigation on June 12, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has completed the special desilting work taken up on various irrigation and drainage channels across the district sanctioned at an estimated cost of ₹16.70 crore this year.

About 115 works covering about 343.14 km of different canals across the district were cleared of silt under the initiative by the River Conservation and the Ariyaru divisions of the department. The execution of the work would benefit about 1.18 lakh acres of cultivable land in the district.

“All the work has been completed,” a senior WRD official said. About the lush growth of water hyacinth on the Uyyakondan canal, he told The Hindu that the weeds would be cleared when they begin to float and easier to remove after the water was released in the canal.

Meanwhile, the Agricultural Engineering Department has completed the desilting work on C and D category canals. “We have desilted C and D canals for about 223.7 km in the district at an estimated cost of ₹1.02 crore,” said A. Kandasamy, Executive Engineer, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Tiruchi.

The department, heeding to request from farmers in Perugamani, Thiruparaithurai, Elamanur and surrounding villages have desilted the Ayyan Vaical, Thenkarai Vaical, and Railway Karai Vaical in the villages. The canals have been cleared of silt for varying legnths of 1.5 km to 3 km after a long time, the officials said.

The WRD has desilted the Pazhaiyur Drain (also referred to as Kodingal by locals) from Analai to Thiruparaithurai as part of the regular maintenance this year, much to the relief of the residents of Thiruparaithurai and Elamanur.

“The canal has been desilted after we petitioned Mudhalvarin Mugavari. The canal width had shrunk considerably and had been encroached upon at various places. The canal has now been desilted for an average width of 40-45 feet. We hope that the authorities would clear the encroachments fully and restore its original width, which ranged from 72 to 220 feet, as per the FMB records,” said K. Thangaraj, who owns an agricultural land at Elamanur.