The tourism potential of the Ponnaniyar dam near Manapparai in the district is yet to be fully utilised. Although some endeavour was taken by the Tourism Department to develop the dam area into a tourism attraction centre, most of the tourism infrastructure including the boats, a canteen and street lights, is yet to be preserved.
The dam is actually located between Perumal Malai and Semmalai in the hilly Kadavur region of Karur district and was renovated under the World Bank-funded ‘Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project’ at an estimate of ₹2.50 crore.
The year-long project, which was completed in February this year, aimed at extending the life of the dam and its structures.
While the dam and its catchment area are located in Karur district, the ayacut area of the dam is spread over Mugavanur panchayat and neighbouring villages in Tiruchi district. The dam has 2,100 acres, mostly dry land. Built in 1974, storm water from the Kadavur region is the main source for the dam. The catchment area is spread over 33.60 square miles.
The dam stands 51 metres tall with a storage capacity of 120 million cubic feet (mcft). On Monday, the level stood at 27.11 feet.
The World Bank project also facilitated laying of approach road to the dam to a length of 4 km from Mugavnur. The retaining wall had been strengthened to a length of 155 metres at an estimate of ₹one crore. An old generator had been replaced by new one at an expenditure of ₹20 lakh. The full tank level is 51 feet and water is released when it touches 43 feet.
The has planned to strengthen the supply channels to a length of about 16 km at an estimate of ₹ 2.50 crore in course of time. The ayacut is located in Mugavanur, Anaikaraipatti, Pudhumaniyarampatti, Theerthampatti and Manpathai.