Many tanks in Thuraiyur region overflowing, but tanks in rest of Tiruchi district fail to benefit from rain

Some of the major irrigation tanks in Thuraiyur sub-division in Tiruchi district have filled up, thanks to copious inflow from Kolli Hills and the Pachamalai, bringing cheer to local farmers

Some of the major irrigation tanks in Thuraiyur sub-division in Tiruchi district have filled up, thanks to copious inflow from Kolli Hills and the Pachamalai, bringing cheer to local farmers.

Thirteen out of the 51 rainfed tanks in the sub-division have filled up so far. These include the Jamberi, Alathudayanpatti Periya Eri, Alathudayanpatti Chinna Eri, and Sirunavalur Eri, sources in the Water Resources Department told The Hindu.

Jamberi is one of the biggest irrigation tanks in the district and is situated in a fertile belt in Uppilliyapuram area where the famous seeraga samba rice is grown. The tank in Vairichettipalayam village has an ayacut area of about 1,020 acres and has a capacity to hold 72.34 million cubic feet (mcft) of water. The tank mainly gets runoff rainwater flow from the Kolli Hills.

The Alathudayapatti Periya Eri, with a storage capacity of 47.43 mcft, irrigates over 325 acres. Overflows from the tank runs into the Alathudayanpatti Chinna Eri, which can hold 33.73 mcft of water. The Sirunavalur tank has a capacity of 49.72 mcft.

The two tanks in Thuraiyur have filled up and were having surplus water on Tuesday following heavy overnight rain. “The two tanks in the town had filled up last month and surplus water could be seen overflowing after the heavy overnight rain on Tuesday,” said N. Saravanan, a resident.

Although Tiruchi district has received a few spells of rain, not all tanks have got good inflows. Of the 116 rain-fed tanks under the Water Resource Department’s Ariyar Division in Tiruchi and Karur districts, only 15 have filled up so far. All the 15 tanks were in Tiruchi district and a majority of them were in Thuraiyur sub-division. The storage in seven other tanks in Tiruchi district ranged between 75% and 99% of their capacities. Two had 50% to 74% storage; 12 had 25% to 49% storage and 49 tanks had less than 25% storage in the district. Sixteen tanks in Tiruchi district and 11 in Karur district had dead storage, according to WRD sources.

Meanwhile, many parts of Tiruchi and Karur districts received good overnight rain with Thogaimalai in Karur district recording the maximum of 128.60 mm of rain in the 24-hour period ending 8 a.m. as per the figures furnished by the district administration.