Farmers seek desilting of inlet channels to Ponnaniyar dam

A view of Ponnaniyar dam in the hilly Kadavur region of Karur district.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

Farmers organisations have urged the Water Resources Department to take steps to desilt the inlet channels to the Ponnaniyar Dam situated in the hilly Kadavur region of Karur district.

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.

Set in sylvan surroundings, about 66 km from Tiruchi, the dam is nestled between Perumal Malai and Semmalai. The dam has an ayacut of 2,100 acres, comprising mostly dry land.

The dam which is under the maintenance of the Ariyar Division of the Water Resources Department was built in 1974. Rainwater flow from the Kadavur region is the main source of water 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).

Amidst expectations of the water release from the dam during the current season, a section of farmers have urged the Water Resources Department to desilt the inlet channel to the dam.

“Over the past 12 years, farmers in the ayacut area of the dam have not been able to cultivate their lands. If the inlet channels are desilted the dam would get better inflows,” said P. Viswanathan, president, Tamizhaga Eri Mattrum Attru Pasana Vivasayigal Sangam.

Mr. Viswanathan, who raised the issue at the recent farmers grievances meeting along with a few other farmers from Manapparai taluk, said that the inlet channel for a length of about 12 km needs to desilted.

Sources in the Water Resources Dam pointed out that the dam was renovated under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) funded by the World Bank only in 2017 and it was being maintained well. Desilting of the inlet channels could be considered but there had not been much rain in the catchment areas, they said.