MADURAI: As the Vaigai river entered its second consecutive day of flooding due to incessant rainfall in Madurai district, the public works department (PWD) cleared the water hyacinths that obstructed the flow of water released to irrigate 67, 837 acres of farmland in Ramanathapuram on Saturday.
Following significant rain, the Vaigai River received an inflow of nearly 5,500 cusecs of water. As a result, a flood alert was issued for the second consecutive day. After the river water reached the Parthibanur barrage on Saturday, Ramanathapuram District Collector Vishnu Chandra ordered the release of 1,504 cusecs of water to irrigate 67, 837 acres of farmland in the district. Water is expected to be released for seven days, till November 29.
The river flow, however, was obstructed by water hyacinths that had accumulated in the AV bridge causeway pipelines. Speaking about the same, WRD Vaigai Basin Assistant Engineer Sekeran stated that only 4,000 cusecs of water was released for the ayacut areas of Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga on November 21. Inflow into the Vaigai river had increased to 5,500 to 6,000 cusecs following rainfall in the past two days. "The water hyacinths disrupted the flow near the AV bridge causeway. Without any help from the corporation, a WRD team has been clearing off the causeway pipelines for the past two days," he added.
Nearly four hatchback loaders have been deployed near the causeway to safely strain the water hyacinths. Sekeran further said that the WRD will clear all water hyacinth by Saturday. He also added that sand bags were piled up near the causeway, where the water had breached the Vaigai banks and flowed onto the roads. Kalirajan, a resident of Madurai, said that water overtopping is a rare sight. Officials advised people to view the flooded Vaigai river from a safer distance.