TIRUPPUR: The Water Resources Department (WRD) officials have stated that water will be released for the fifth wetting of the fourth zone only after the severely damaged places on the banks of the main canal of Parambikulam Aliyar project (PAP) are repaired. Work is under way to identify and repair damaged locations in the canal.
On November 13, a breach occurred on the bank of PAP main canal, which travels about 124 km, at Vavipalayam near Palladam in Tiruppur. As a result, water released for irrigation from the Thirumurthy dam, in Udumalaipet, entered farmlands, residential areas, and schools of the village. As a precautionary measure, the school was declared holiday.
To control the situation, water release from the dam was stopped and the already-released water was diverted to the 46th km of the canal directed towards the Uppar dam in Dharapuram, Tiruppur. With a depth of 24 feet and a storage level of 576 mcft, it is built to store surplus water from the PAP scheme. The situation was a boon to farmers who had already urged life water to Uppar dam.
Meanwhile, water from Thirumurthy dam is still not released for irrigation after the PAP canal breach. Farmers are demanding immediate repair of the most damaged areas of the canal.
GV Viveganadan, Secretary of PAP Welfare Association, said, "We urge that there should not be any no delay in opening water to irrigation. At the same time, it is also necessary to immediately repair the most severely damaged areas of the canal. For example, at km 86.9, the canal bank has been severely damaged. It needs to be repaired immediately."
A senior WRD official said, "Work is under way to identify the most damaged areas in the PAP main canal. At present, severe damages on the banks have been detected at three places in the canal and repair work is on. The repair work will be completed in a few days. After that, water will be released from the dam to the fifth wetting of the fourth zone. Usually, water will be provided for 15 days for the fifth wetting. We are currently planning to provide up to nine days."