Need for check dam to store water flowing into sea

Failure by successive State governments to construct a check dam downstream of Srivaikundam check dam to store the Tamirabharani’s surplus water during floods has resulted in wastage of over 10,000 cu

Failure by successive State governments to construct a check dam downstream of Srivaikundam check dam to store the Tamirabharani’s surplus water during floods has resulted in wastage of over 10,000 cusecs of water into the Gulf of Mannar.

Srivaikundam check dam, the last check dam of Tamirabharani irrigation system built in the 1860s with the storage capacity of 8 tmcft, had to wait for more than five decades for desilting, thanks to the delay in getting the nod from Ministry of Environment and Forest. When the desilting started, it caused a furore among the public, especially farmers, who alleged that desilting was not done properly as river sand was alone plundered in far away places. An additional check dam could help in irrigating over 50,000 acres of uncultivated area with the water draining into the sea. Though steps were taken to identify a place for the construction of a check dam during the previous AIADMK government, the proposal remains only on paper till now.

After Papanasam dam’s storage level touched 135 feet and Servalar dam’s storage rose to 142 feet, the Tamirabharani flooded recently as over 15,000 cusecs of water was discharged from these reservoirs. Consequently, over 10,300 cusecs of water was going waste into the sea at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. While 300 cusecs water is released in Vadakal channel, no water has been released in the Thenkal channel.