Desilting works in Mettur West Bank in Erode district to be completed in a week

Desilting of Mettur West Bank Canal to irrigate 17,230 acres to be completed within a week by Water Resources Department.

Desilting of the Mettur West Bank Canal, which helps irrigate 17,230 acres in the district, is expected to be completed within a week.

Water is usually released from Mettur Dam into the East and West Bank canals for over 130 days to irrigate a total of 45,000 acres across Salem (16,443 acres), Erode, and Namakkal (11,327 acres) districts. However, due to the uncontrolled growth of bushes, weeds, and other aquatic plants in the canal, farmers were demanding that the canal be desilted. In response, the Water Resources Department (WRD) recently began the desilting works.

On May 23, Damodaran, Monitoring Engineer for Erode district and Director of the Institute of Hydraulics and Hydrology, Poondi (Thiruvallur district), inspected the desilting works. Officials said the works covered a 9.75-km stretch of the canal, which fell under the Mettur Dam Division of the Tiruchi Zone. The works were expected to be completed in time for the release of irrigation water from the dam next month.

The State government had announced that water from the dam would be released for delta irrigation on the customary date of June 12 and also announced a special desilting scheme across 12 districts. The government had said that all the works would be completed by May-end.