TIRUPPUR: After surplus water was released from Amaravathi Dam, a leak occurred on the new ayacut canal near Kallapuram on Tuesday, prompting Water Resources Department (WRD) officials to repair it. Meanwhile, farmers have blamed officials’ negligence for the leak.
Reportedly, Amaravathi Dam near Udumalaipet in Tiruppur district reached its full reservoir level in June, and surplus water was released on Monday. On Tuesday morning, 6,000 cusecs of surplus water was released from the dam, while the inflow was 7,500 cusecs.
A leak was noticed in the new ayacut canal, about 3 km from the dam, on Tuesday morning. Subsequently, the surplus water released from the dam to the canal was stopped, and WRD officials were engaged in repairs.
A senior official from the WRD for Amaravathi Dam said, "The leakage in the new ayacut canal was repaired by Tuesday evening. Subsequently, water will be released in the canal by Tuesday night. We have plugged the area where the leak occurred."
"Furthermore, water inflow to the dam decreased to 2,500 cusecs on Tuesday evening. We will maintain the water level in the dam at 88 feet and release the inflow water as it is," the official added.
J Vijayamohan, Udumalaipet union secretary of Tamilaga Vivasiyigal Pathukappu Sangam, said, "WRD officials failed to thoroughly inspect irrigation canals before the onset of monsoon. It is rare for farmers to get water for irrigation through surplus water from the dam. If such water flow is hindered due to such reasons, that is sad. Water should be released quickly in the new ayacut canal. Officials should take steps to prevent such incidents from recurring."
Nearly 54,637 acres of farmlands are irrigated using water from Amaravathi Dam, of which around 25,000 acres are under new ayacut canals.