Minister opens memorial pillar for Mordhana dam in Vellore for completion of 25 years

Minister Duraimurugan inaugurates a memorial pillar at Mordhana dam, celebrating 25 years of vital irrigation support in Vellore.

T.N. Minister for Water Resources and Katpadi MLA Duraimurgan on Saturday inaugurated a 25-ft high memorial pillar at Mordhana dam, which was built across the Koundinya river, a tributary of the Palar, in Gudiyatham town in Vellore to commemorate 25 years of the existence of the dam that helped to irrigate 8, 367 acres of farmland in the region.

Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD), which maintains the dam, said that the foundation stone was laid more than three decades ago in December, 1990. when Mr. Duraimurugan was the Minister for Public Works and Forests. A decade later, the dam was inaugurated by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in September 2000. “The dam reached its full storage capacity of 261.3 mcft for the tenth time during the 2025 monsoon. The dam also witnessed restoration works during that period,” V. Kalipriyan, Assistant Engineer (AE), WRD (Gudiyatham), told The Hindu.

Accompanied by Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi and Vellore MP D.M. Kathir Anand, Mr. Duraimurugan inspected the canal, protection wall and bund area. “Water from the dam is a lifeline for irrigation and domestic use. It helps to cultivate crops for at least three seasons a year,” said G. Ramu, a farmer.WRD officials said that the restored left canal of the dam runs 31.84 kms distance, covering at least 19 villages with around 1,710.92 hectares of farmland.

The left canal, which is three metres wide, covers a large tract of land under cultivation. Water from the Koundinya river directly irrigates around 140 acres. Another 220 acres in the region are irrigated through water from the left canal of the dam alone. WRD officials said that under the Rehabilitation and Restoration of Lakes scheme 2024-25, the left canal of the dam was taken up for restoration where deposited silt on the canal bed was removed to a depth of three metres to ensure steady water flow on it. Growth of thick vegetation especially on bund and slope of the bund was also removed.

WRD officials said that restoration of the key canal of the dam has helped for storage of excess rainwater in the dam to its full capacity during the 2025 monsoon since 2021 massive floods in the region. Excess water from the dam also overflows to 19 irrigation tanks on the downstream of the river, thereby providing adequate water for farmers in the area for cultivation. On the occasion, S. Pavalakannan, Superintending Engineer (SE), WRD, R. Venkatesh, Executive Engineer (EE), WRD, P. Gopi, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), WRD, and S. Ramkumar, AE (WRD) were present.