TIRUPPUR: The state government has approved PWD’s proposal to to renovate the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP), a key irrigation system spread across Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts, at a cost of `1,400 crore. In view of this, the PWD has engaged a Bengaluru-based private firm to conduct an aerial survey of the project to identify damaged and vulnerable structures.
President of PAP Vellakoil branch water conservation association P Velusamy, who obtained details about the survey through an RTI query, told TNIE that the drone survey started on November 3. “After spotting some people conducting inspection of the canal in our region, I approached the local PWD officials, but they did not reveal any information. So I filed the RTI query.
The department replied that they were conducting survey to prepare a report for rehabilitation of the PAP irrigation system that would be carried out at Rs 1,400 crore. Engineers from SECON Private Ltd, based in Bengaluru, will be using drones to measure the length of the canal and its branches. The funding agency for the entire project is yet to be finalized.”
Chief engineer (Coimbatore zone) of water resource department (PWD) P Sivalingam confirmed the development. “The PAP canal is massive with the branch and main canal spread over hundreds of kilometres across two districts. The main canal and branch canals were built more than 50 years ago, and additional canals were added in later years. In order to strengthen and increase the life of the canal, we planned to rehabilitate the entire system. The proposal has been accepted by the state government and survey began on November 3,” he told TNIE.
The consultancy has set up an office in Pollachi and has engaged 40 engineers and surveyors for the survey. It will take some months to prepare the detailed report, including the feasibility study. The total cost of the renovation project is estimated to be Rs 1,400 crore. The funding agency will be later decided by the state government,” Sivalingam added.