COIMBATORE: All works related to the Athikadavu-Avinashi Groundwater Recharge Project have been completed and the scheme will likely be inaugurated in September, according to officials of the Water Resources Organisation. The trial run of the project was also completed in July.
The project, which is a five-decade-old demand of people in the three districts, began in February 2019. Built at a cost of Rs 1,916.417 crore, the ambitious project will irrigate 24,468 acres in drought-prone areas in Erode, Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts.
According to WRO sources, water would be pumped from the Bhavani River into 1,045 water bodies including tanks, ponds and check dams across the three districts. These cover Perundurai, Chennimalai, Nambiyur, Gobichettipalayam, Bhavanisagar, Uthukuli, Avinashi, Tiruppur, Annur, Sulur, Sarkarsamakulam, Periyanaickenpalayam and Karamadai blocks.
For this purpose, six pumping stations have been set up at Annur in Coimbatore district, Bhavani, Nallakavunadanpalayam, Thiruvachi, Polanayakkanpalayam, Emmampoondi in Erode.
S Sivalingam, Chief Engineer of the Water Resources Department (Coimbatore Region), said, “All works are over. It is an automated project with a 1,065 km pipeline along with 1,300 valves. Water flow will stop automatically once it reaches capacity. We are all set to roll out the project in September. Based on the surplus in the river, water will be drawn.”