TIRUPPUR: Farmers have urged the Water Resources Department to urgently repair the two defective shutters of the Amaravathi Dam in Udumalaipet as the water level rose by 14 feet in two days with the onset of the monsoon.
The shutters need to be functional as water may have to be released if the dam fills up if heavy rain continues for a few more days.
The dam across the Amaravathi River in Amaravathi Nagar has nine shutters.
Around 54,637 acres of agricultural land in Tiruppur and Karur districts are dependent on water from the dam. Also, several joint drinking water schemes rely on the Amaravathi River and the main canal.
A senior official from the Water Resources Department told TNIE that the work would be completed within a week.
The water level in the dam has been rising rapidly due to continuous rains in its catchment areas bordering Kerala. On Wednesday, the water inflow into the dam was 4,485 cusecs. The water level was 65 feet against its full level of 90 ft (total capacity: 4,047 mcft). On Monday, the inflow was 1,590 cusecs and the water level was 51 ft.
Last year, surplus water was released from the Amaravathi Dam when it reached 88 ft.
MM Veerappan, taluk secretary of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, said, "If there is heavy rain for two days, the dam will reach its full capacity. So the authorities should speedily repair the repaired shutters. This is very important for saving water and protecting the dam."
However, a senior official from the WRD said only one shutter needs to be fixed. "Out of the nine shutters, the eighth and the ninth shutters were recently repaired. But one of them needs to be repaired again and it has been removed to fit a wheel. The work will be completed within a week. The work has been accelerated following the rapid rise in the water level of the dam," he clarified.
"In addition, a proposal is being prepared to open water for irrigation for the first zone soon," the official added.
Meanwhile, tourists were banned from visiting the Panchalinga Falls at the foothills of Thirumurthy Hills for the past five days until Wednesday due to high water flow.