COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has begun removing the alluvial soil near the water inlet pipelines at the Pillur Dam as the water levels in the dam started dropping over the past few days.
CCMC commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran, CCMC mayor Kalpana Anandakumar, City Engineer (IC) Murugesan, and various other officials and councillors visited the Pillur Dam on Tuesday and inspected the ongoing silt removal works and the pumping stations.
With the summer setting in, water scarcity is looming over the people of Coimbatore city as the water levels in the reservoirs have started reducing. The civic body has been catering to the water needs of the residents by supplying water through Siruvani, Pillur and KVV schemes.
During water shortage and supply issues in Siruvani Dam, the CCMC used to manage the water needs of the Siruvani-fed areas by drawing additional water from the Pillur Dam and supplying it to residential areas. However, the dropping water levels in Pillur Dam have raised concerns.
Apart from water levels reducing, exuberant silt formation in the reservoir is also turning out to be a major concern. Due to the silt near the water inlet pipelines of the dam, the water drawn from the dam for drinking water needs began to reduce gradually.
Given this, the civic body kick-started the removal of alluvial soil and silt near the water inlet pipelines at the Pillur Dam at the cost of about `25 lakh on Monday.
Sources from the CCMC said that the alluvial soil and silt are being removed for length of 60 to 80 feet at 2 metres depth. The work is likely to be completed in the next 3-4 days. Currently, the water level in the Pillur Dam stands at 62 ft against its full capacity of 100 ft. .
Speaking to TNIE, Prabakaran said, “Currently, the desilting works are being carried out in full swing. The alluvial soil has been removed and deposited near the banks of the dam. We can’t decide whether to give them to the farmers in the region. We have also charted out a Summer Action Plan.”