NAGAPATTINAM: The public works department (PWD) will as part of its special desilting scheme undertake 79 works in channels in Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts running to a length of over 1,000 km at a cost of Rs 12 crore.
Ahead of the release of Cauvery water from Mettur dam for aiding irrigation in the delta region, the state government every year desilts those channels that carry the river water. The channels are classified as A, B, C, D, E, F, G and so on according to their branching level.
Of these, the PWD desilts the A and B channels under their 'special desilting' scheme. In Mayiladuthurai district, the A and B channels running to a length of around 750 km would be desilted this year in 51 works at a cost of Rs 8.06 crore. All the works would be carried out in Cauvery River Basin which irrigates the district. A senior PWD-WRD official in Mayiladuthurai district said, "We will commence desilting works in about a week and we will complete them by end of May.
The works will complete before the water from Mettur dam arrives and are distributed through the channels in Mayiladuthurai district." In Nagapattinam district, A and B channels spanning 301 km would be desilted in 29 works at a total cost of Rs 3.97 crore. Among them, 239.7 km of Vennaru river’s distributaries in Vennaru basin would be desilted at Rs 3.16 crore and 61.4 km of Cauvery river’s distributaries would be desilted at a cost of Rs 81 lakh.
Pointing out Nagapattinam to be predominantly dependent on the river irrigation owing to the salinity of groundwater resources, S Ramadoss, a farmer representative from the district, sought for timely completion of desilting works. Meanwhile, farmers demanded the agricultural engineering and rural development departments to commence the desilting works in C and D channels, and the interior E, F, G and other channels to facilitate water distribution.