VILLUPURAM: P Shobana, executive engineer of the public works department (water resources) on Wednesday said that the reconstruction works of Ellis Chatram dam built across the Thenpennai river between Yenathimangalam-Kappur villages in Villupuram district have been completed.
The Ellis Chatram dam was built across the Thenpennai river to provide water to 26 lakes and 13,100 acres of agricultural land through the canals of Eralur, Reddy, Alangal, Maragathapuram and Kandambakkam.
The embankment gradually disintegrated and was completely destroyed in 2021 by heavy rains and flooding of the river. Due to this, the farmers who were irrigating their fields using the water from this facility were affected. Subsequently, based on the continuous demand of the farmers, minister K Ponmudy brought this to the attention of the Chief Minister MK Stalin. Later, the Tamil Nadu government issued an ordinance for the reconstruction of the damaged Ellis Chatram dam at a cost of `86.25 crore during the 2023-24 legislative session.
Following this, the Public Works Department (Water Resources) started the reconstruction work last year. The work has now been completed and a quality check was held by the chief engineer.
She apprised the farmers about the quality of the dam while the farmers demanded the construction of side walls for a distance of about 500m on both sides of the dam.
"The reconstruction work of Ellis Chatram dam has been completed in a standard manner. This dam will provide irrigation facilities to 26 lakes and 13,100 acres of agricultural land. The ground water level will rise in 36 villages around the dam. It will be inaugurated soon," he said.