World Bank team inspects renovation of canals in Erode district
The Hindu
world bank team inspects works in erode district
A World Bank team inspected the works to rejuvenate tanks, anaicuts and major canals taken up under the Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation Project–II (TNIAMP-II) in the district recently.
The World Bank-assisted project is being implemented by the State government in 47 river sub-basins with the bank’s share of 70% (₹2,962 crore) and the government’s share of 30% (₹888.60 crore) covering 33 districts.
Various departments - Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Marketing and Agri Business, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, and Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare - besides three universities, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu Fisheries University and Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, are jointly working in implementing the project.
In Phase II, rehabilitation of 103 tanks, 96 anaicuts and three major canals, 119.26-km-long, are taken up at ₹11.59 crore in Erode, Salem, Namakkal and Dharmapuri districts in the Mettur-Noyyal confluence sub-basic for the benefit of the farmers with a command area of 27,751.61 hectares.
Members Joop Stoutjesdijk, Lead Water Resource Management Special and Co-Task Team Leader, and Varun Singh, Senior Social Development Specialist, visited the project sites at Nerinjipettai Mettur West Bank Canal at Mylambadi village and farm lands at Sangara Goundanpalayam.
They were accompanied by R. Krishnan, Water Resource Management Specialist, K. Chandrasekaran, Specialist from Agri Engineering Department, Judith D Selva, Environment Specialist, G. Vijayaram, Social Development Specialist R. Raman, MIS Specialist, R. Anbalagan, Superintending Engineer, Water Resources Department, Upper Cauvery Basic Circle, Salem, B. Sivakumar, Executive Engineer, Mettur Dam Division and V. Rajendran, Executive Engineer, Environment Division, Coimbatore. The members interacted with engineers and farmers during their visit.
While residents are worried over deaths due to diarrhoea in Vijayawada, officials still grapple to find the root cause. Contaminated drinking water supplied by VMC officials is the reason, insist people in the affected areas, but officials insist that efforts are on to identify the disease and that those with symptoms other than diarrhoea too are visiting the health camps.