Farmers complain of Rs 38 cr structural works moving at snail’s pace; demand CM to inspect spot.
Thiruchirapalli:
The Upper Anicut-as the Mukkombu dam is otherwise known-was the project of British engineer Sir Arthur Cotton who, having been inspired by the architectural beauty of the Grand Anicut canal believed to have been built by Karikala Chola in Kallanai of Thanjavur district in the second century, constructed the regulator in 1836. The Kollidam river branches out from the Cauvery at Mukkombu. The 6.3-metre-wide dam has as many as 45 shutters through which the water release is regulated for irrigation and is used to channel water to Vathalai and interior parts of Tiruchy.
However, on August 22, 2018, as many as nine shutters of the regulator were washed away after the heavy flow of water from Mettur following it becoming full from heavy rains in Karnataka. Around 2.50 lakh cusecs reached Mukkombu then and 1.75 lakh cusecs was released into Kollidam while 65,000 cusecs was released into the Cauvery.
According to the Public Works Department (PWD), the collapse occurred to a length of 110 metres, and as a preventive measure, the officials had established temporary works in an area of 220 metres from Shutter no 1 to 16 with boulders and sand bags in an area of three-metre width. They have also erected a concrete wall at each edge of the collapsed regulator so that it would not be inflicted by further damage and withstand the heavy flow of water, with the leaks also getting plugged.
Farmers claimed that the regulator collapse was due to excess mining of sand in both the Kollidam and the Cauvery riverbeds. “There were three sand quarries near Kollidam: one near Kollidam dam, the other at Gunaseelam and yet another at Ayyampalayam, and they [smugglers] had dredged heavy loads of sand. So, the dam must have lost its strength,” said Veerasekaran, spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangam.
Against this backdrop, temporary works to the tune of Rs 38 crore has been under way at the Mukkombu regulator since the collapse. “The government initially said that they would complete the temporary works which has been planned as a semicircular structure. However, it is now nearing a year, and they still continue to work on the temporary structure. This is nothing but the slackness of officials. They never show the enthusiasm that was there during the initial days anymore,” Ayilai Siva Suriyan, a leader of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association told DT Next. He also raised concern over the stability of the remaining structure of the dam. The regulator is usually used for the discharge of flood water, and the release from the Mettur dam is only expected to intensify, thus making the fate of the regulator dam uncertain.
Meanwhile, Siva Suriyan expressed reservations on the government’s announcement of the construction of check dams across the State. “Instead of constructing check dams beyond the Upper Anicut, it is better to establish dams before the Anicut or diverting it to the waterbodies around the place and establishing lakes to store excess water on a par with Karnataka. Otherwise, the construction of check dams would be useless for the delta’s agriculture activity,” he said, adding that the heavy inflow may be curbed by diverting the water into the sub-rivers and canals for irrigation.
Puliyur Nagarajan, the State president of the TMC (Farmers Wing), rued that works at the Mukkombu regulator were not going on a fast track. “We witnessed that only when the water reached Mettur had the PWD sped up works [at Mukkombu]. They are still to complete around 30 per cent of the work,” he said.
Nagarajan also said that a portion of sand bags kept to strengthen the temporary structure at Mukkombu got washed away when water from Mettur reached last week. “It is time that the Chief Minister personally visited the spot and speeded up the works. Otherwise, it would only be moving at a snail’s pace,” he claimed.
While the release of Cauvery water from Mettur dam reaching Mukkombu regulator in the district earlier last week was welcomed with a shower of
petals, works on strengthening the temporary structure —around the portion of the regulator dam that was damaged a year ago— still not having been completed has drawn the ire of farmers and locals. Raising
concerns over the stability of the remaining structure, they now demand that the Chief Minister personally visit the spot in order to expedite the works.
The Upper Anicut-as the Mukkombu dam is otherwise known-was the project of British engineer Sir Arthur Cotton who, having been inspired by the architectural beauty of the Grand Anicut canal believed to have been built by Karikala Chola in Kallanai of Thanjavur district in the second century, constructed the regulator in 1836. The Kollidam river branches out from the Cauvery at Mukkombu. The 6.3-metre-wide dam has as many as 45 shutters through which the water release is regulated for irrigation and is used to channel water to Vathalai and interior parts of Tiruchy.
However, on August 22, 2018, as many as nine shutters of the regulator were washed away after the heavy flow of water from Mettur following it becoming full from heavy rains in Karnataka. Around 2.50 lakh cusecs reached Mukkombu then and 1.75 lakh cusecs was released into Kollidam while 65,000 cusecs was released into the Cauvery.
According to the Public Works Department (PWD), the collapse occurred to a length of 110 metres, and as a preventive measure, the officials had established temporary works in an area of 220 metres from Shutter no 1 to 16 with boulders and sand bags in an area of three-metre width. They have also erected a concrete wall at each edge of the collapsed regulator so that it would not be inflicted by further damage and withstand the heavy flow of water, with the leaks also getting plugged.
Farmers claimed that the regulator collapse was due to excess mining of sand in both the Kollidam and the Cauvery riverbeds. “There were three sand quarries near Kollidam: one near Kollidam dam, the other at Gunaseelam and yet another at Ayyampalayam, and they [smugglers] had dredged heavy loads of sand. So, the dam must have lost its strength,” said Veerasekaran, spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangam.
Against this backdrop, temporary works to the tune of Rs 38 crore has been under way at the Mukkombu regulator since the collapse. “The government initially said that they would complete the temporary works which has been planned as a semicircular structure. However, it is now nearing a year, and they still continue to work on the temporary structure. This is nothing but the slackness of officials. They never show the enthusiasm that was there during the initial days anymore,” Ayilai Siva Suriyan, a leader of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association told DT Next. He also raised concern over the stability of the remaining structure of the dam. The regulator is usually used for the discharge of flood water, and the release from the Mettur dam is only expected to intensify, thus making the fate of the regulator dam uncertain.
Meanwhile, Siva Suriyan expressed reservations on the government’s announcement of the construction of check dams across the State. “Instead of constructing check dams beyond the Upper Anicut, it is better to establish dams before the Anicut or diverting it to the waterbodies around the place and establishing lakes to store excess water on a par with Karnataka. Otherwise, the construction of check dams would be useless for the delta’s agriculture activity,” he said, adding that the heavy inflow may be curbed by diverting the water into the sub-rivers and canals for irrigation.
Puliyur Nagarajan, the State president of the TMC (Farmers Wing), rued that works at the Mukkombu regulator were not going on a fast track. “We witnessed that only when the water reached Mettur had the PWD sped up works [at Mukkombu]. They are still to complete around 30 per cent of the work,” he said.
Nagarajan also said that a portion of sand bags kept to strengthen the temporary structure at Mukkombu got washed away when water from Mettur reached last week. “It is time that the Chief Minister personally visited the spot and speeded up the works. Otherwise, it would only be moving at a snail’s pace,” he claimed.