Rehabilitation of irrigation systems in Kurangan Pallam Odai to be carried out at ₹15 crore
The Odai is a rain-fed natural stream that originates at Devanampalayam near Hanumanpalli village in Modakkurichi taluk, runs for 39 km, and joins the Cauvery river at Vengambur in Kodumudi taluk. It receives water during the North-East monsoon and from seepage from the earthen Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) main canal during the irrigation period. The stream typically dries up between May and September every year, when water supply from the LBP canal is stopped. Over the past 20 years, seven check dams have been constructed across the stream to harness floodwaters and seepage.
The stream's irrigation system is a lifeline for farmland in the two taluks, directly and indirectly irrigating around 9,000 acres. The Punjai Kalamangalam Canal, which originates from the Kurangan Pallam anicut at Elumathur village, runs for 12.60 km and was designed to irrigate an ayacut area of 3,840 acres. However, since these systems fall under non-system irrigation, there are no funds allocated for their regular maintenance. Only a portion of the stream was rehabilitated under the Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation Project (TNIAMP) in 2018.
Due to leakages, the check dams can no longer retain water, while the water spread areas have become heavily silted and overrun by Juliflora vegetation. Since the stream remains almost perennial due to seepage, people living nearby use the stream daily for bathing and other domestic activities. The foundations of bridges across the stream have also eroded at various locations and require urgent repairs to extend their lifespan by a few decades.
The Water Resources Department submitted a proposal for rehabilitation works, which includes the construction of bund protection walls, desilting and strengthening of check dams, installation of silt traps, jungle clearance, construction of bathing ghats, reconstruction of canal sluices, and provision of a trough section and protection walls along the canal embankment. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced the project during his visit to Erode on December 20, 2024.
A senior engineer from the Water Resources Department told The Hindu that once the works are completed, it will ensure the free flow of water, thereby restoring the stream's original water-carrying capacity. He added that the conveyance efficiency of the Punjai Kalamangalam Canal would be significantly improved through the construction of the trough section in the embankment reaches of the branch canals. Leakages in the damaged structures will also be eliminated following the reconstruction of cross-masonry structures, he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
WRD awaits Central Water Commission nod for rehabilitation of PAP channels
The Water Resources Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, is awaiting approval from the Central Water Commission, New Delhi, for rehabilitation of Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) channels in the Parambikulam-Aliyar sub-basin in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts, to mitigate excess water loss, an official document states. A detailed project report envisaging ₹7.08 crore expenditure for rehabilitation of canal systems and to provide automated community irrigation in the two districts has been sent to the Central Water Commission, according to the WRD policy note for 2025-26. Encompassing seven reservoirs, four hydro power generation stations, six tunnels, a contour canal, and Aliyar Feeder Canal, for diverting west-flowing rivers into east side to irrigate the rain shadow lands in the two districts through main canals, branch canals and distributaries, the PAP has made possible irrigation in 17,960 hectares in the two zones (with one zone irrigated in a year) of Aliyar Sub-Basin and 1,52,631 hectares in Palar Sub-Basin that is divided into four zones (with two zones irrigated once a year) through 250 km length of main canals, 244 km length of branch canals, 640 km length of distributaries and 1,240 km length of distribution canals. The WRD has mentioned in the policy note that PAP is a water-deficit basin, and that due to the prolonged usage the canals that were built with cement plastering and pre-cast slabs had been damaged resulting in loss of huge quantity of water. 'It becomes a herculean task to supply water to the tail-end areas during ordinary as well as drought seasons,' it states. The rehabilitation work, the WRD hopes, would mitigate excess water loss. 'Water management in the irrigation basins can be improved through modernisation such as automated sluices, piped irrigation and micro-irrigation, control of wastage and water theft in canals, accurate maintenance of water supply calculations, distribution of water during crop season and judicious use of every drop of water,' the policy note states. There is also a provision for introduction of 'Solid Waste Dump Identification Module' system, shortly. Using high-resolution satellite imagery, dumps in water bodies are identified through continuous monitoring. The status of the solid waste is reported to the officials. It triggers workflow to removal of solid waste once they are identified. Farmers' organisations are, however, understood to have expressed their disappointment to the WRD over the 'meagre' apportioning for Coimbatore region out of the ₹120 crore allocation made in the 2025-26 Budget for special desilting works of irrigation canals on a priority basis. The purpose is to ensure reach of water till the tail-end areas without any hindrance, and for quick drainage during floods. Out of ₹120 crore allotted for this purpose, only ₹1.5 crore will be utilised for 29 special desiltation works in a cumulative length of 264.12 km. The programme envisages desilting of water bodies to the designed bed level, removal of shoals and thorny bushes in canals / channels, branch canals / drains / supply channels etc., till the tail end areas, on war-footing with the involvement of 'Uzhavar Kuzhu' (Farmers' Association).
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Madras Day series on natural history: a survivor at the Marina
At the Marina beach, an old man warming a low wall mounted with a steel grille finds a silent companion in an old Neermaruthu tree. The tree stands in a garden enclosed by this wall. The two seem connected at more than a physical level. They are at comparable life stages. The old man has weariness of time weighing down on him, getting by on a walker, which he has kept next to him, as a setting sun douses him in a gentle light. Bent and wizened not as much by age as vandalism, the tree seems to stretch out towards the ebbing sun. Its buttress has been chewed out, and in the huge hollow, an opportune young Peepal tree grows. The inside of the hollowed-out buttress bears a burnt look, the black inside contrasting with the natural whiteness on the outer surface of the intact buttress and the trunk. T.D. Babu, key member of tree conservation organisation Nizhal and a member of the Chennai District Green Council, points out that this old tree makes a commentary on the landscape. Being an indicator species, it is a trusted chronicler of the landscape's history, now rudely overshadowed by development. This tree stands at a section of the Marina, where a life-size statue of Bharathiyar does too. To its west, the tree finds the office of the Water Resources Department located on the other side of Kamarajar Salai. Cooum river is not too far from the scene. To the north, the tree finds the river entering under the Napier bridge, holding hands with the thick waters of the Buckingham Canal before bounding down the last stretch merrily towards the sea. Babu explains that Neermaruthu (Terminalia Arjuna; called in everyday conversations across India as Arjuna) is a species found along rivers and other waterways, largely along the coast. This tree was not planted and occurred naturally and is therefore an iconic representation of the landscape's intrinsic character. In the olden days, the Cooum and the sea would have interacted way more differently than they do now, and the former's contours would have changed over the centuries. Stands of Neermaruthu trees in the vicinity of the Cooum in a pre-development era could not be ruled out. This lone, old tree is probably the rare one to survive this development. With whatever vim it has, this tree ought to be protected for the living showcase of natural history that it is.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Forest department approves Udaipur dam project after securing land near Sariska
Jaipur: The state Forest Department has granted the long-pending No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the Devas III and IV dam project in Udaipur, nearly two years after withholding it due to the unavailability of suitable compensatory land. The clearance followed the identification of 174.1106 hectares of non-forest land near the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district, fulfilling the department's requirement that the land be adjacent to a tiger reserve or wildlife sanctuary. The Rs 1,691-crore project, aimed at securing Udaipur's future drinking water supply, is proposed on an equivalent area of forest land in the district. As per forest conservation norms, any diversion of forest land for non-forest use must be offset by providing equal non-forest land for afforestation. However, such land was not available near the project site, leading to prolonged delays. A forest official said, "Initially, the Forest Department had objected even after the Udaipur administration identified alternative land within the district. In a revised demand, the department insisted on land located near a protected area. Following this, the Alwar district administration identified land in the Kalad–Pratapgarh forest block adjoining the Sariska Tiger Reserve. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn More - How Watching Videos Can Boost Your Income TheDaddest Undo A total of 340.32 hectares was surveyed, and 174.1106 hectares have been reserved for afforestation. " The process was expedited after the Udaipur administration corresponded with the Alwar Collector, emphasising that the project was a priority for the ruling govt. "After completing the documentation, the revenue proposal has been sent to the state govt for final approval. Once cleared, the land will be transferred to the Forest Department, which will formally issue the NOC. The Water Resources Department had already issued work orders for construction in October 2023. With the NOC expected shortly, physical work on the dam and tunnel is set to begin," the official added.
