New causeway across Ponnai river near Katpadi will be ready by January
The Hindu
Vellore's causeway across Ponnai tributary to be ready by Jan. 70% of work done. Funded under Permanent Floods Restoration Scheme, ₹12.94 cr bridge will be 190m long, 9.60m wide, lifeline for 15 villages. Check dam across Ponnai damaged in Nov 2021 floods, 50% of work done. Irrigates 8,814.96 hectares, 10.20 lakh consumers depend on channels for domestic use.
The causeway across the Ponnai, a tributary of the Palar, on the Chittoor-Tiruttani High Road at Melpadi village near Katpadi town in Vellore will be ready by January.
Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD), which executes the work, said that more than 70 per cent of the total work of the causeway had been completed. Of the total 18 spans (concrete pillars), only one has to be constructed across the dry river. “Most of the causeway work has been completed. Remaining works like side walls of the causeway are being stepped up,” R. Sivasankaran, Assistant Engineer, WRD (Ponnai), told The Hindu.
Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan inspected the ongoing work in the presence of C.T. Shanmugam, superintending engineer; R. Ramesh, executive engineer and P. Gopi, assistant executive engineer, on Wednesday.
Funded under the Permanent Floods Restoration Scheme, 2021–22, and built by the State Highways Department, the ₹12.94 crore bridge will be 190 metres long and 9.60 metres wide. It will be the lifeline for at least 15 villages. The bridge is being built after the old, narrow bridge was washed away during the November 2021 floods. Since then, residents have been taking a detour of at least 6 km, through Arcot, to reach Katpadi and Old Town in Vellore.
Mr. Duraimurugan also inspected the ₹19.46 crore check dam across the Ponnai. It was badly damaged during the November 2021 floods, resulting in the loss of excess rainwater during the monsoon. At present, more than 50 per cent of the total work has been completed, officials said.
Built in 1857, the check dam, which is 216 metres long and 0.9 metres wide, has water channels on its eastern, southern, and western sides, covering a distance of 51.96 km, 32 km, and 18 km respectively.
Water from these channels irrigates 8,814.96 hectares for 10,243 farmers and discharges excess rainwater to 122 irrigation tanks, maintained by WRD, in Vellore and Ranipet districts. Around 10.20 lakh consumers also depend on these channels for domestic use, WRD officials said.