TIRUCHY: Farmers have expressed dissatisfaction over desilting works carried out in the Uyyakondan canal, especially in the stretch between Pulivalam and Allithurai, and alleged that its banks have shrunk further compared to previous years.
With river Cauvery water scheduled to be released from the Mettur dam on June 12, desilting works across the delta region are nearing completion. But the work carried out in the 6-km stretch of the Uyyakondan canal between Pulivalam and Allithurai by the Water Resources Department (WRD) is shallower, said farmers in the district.
"The desilting works carried out shows that the machines used by the PWD has only scratched the surface - it has not removed the plants or stabilised the soil. In such cases it would not be possible to nourish the pathway," said Vayalur Rajendran N, a farmer leader in the Tamil Maanila Congress.
"Every year after desilting, we notice that the banks of the Uyyakondan canal, instead of widening, end up shrinking. This would only narrow the pathway in the coming years. A proper retaining wall marking the boundary must be erected before carrying out desilting works, without which it won't be of much help," said Ayalai Siva Suriyan of the Tamil Nadu Vivasaigal Sangam. A PWD-WRO official told TNIE, "We have carried out desilting works the best way we can.
Farmers may demand a deeper level of desilting, but there are certain levels that have to be maintained, otherwise water, instead of flowing into the sub-canals would stagnate. Farmers in past years had complained that sub canals were not getting their due requirement." "We're unable to build retaining walls due to a lack of funds. The government in the past had announced that a comprehensive work on Uyyakondan would be carried out but funds have not been released for it," he added.