The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : `Canal revival will be over in a week'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

`Canal revival will be over in a week'

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, NOV.15. Work to revive the canal connecting Ukkadam Big Tank with Valankulam will be completed in a week's time. The Ukkadam Police Station that was located on the canal has been demolished and work is apace to desilt the canal to let excess water from the big tank flow into Valankulam, as it was a couple of decades ago.

Sources in the Public Works Department, which has taken up the revival work, said today that at the most it may take only 10 days for the work to be completed. Now that the structure housing the police station had been removed, the revival work would be carried out quickly to reap the benefits of heavy rain that was fast filling up the tanks in Coimbatore, they said.

Clogging of the canal owing to encroachments and also abuse in the form of dumping of waste and debris had cut off flow from the big tank to Valankulam. This, in turn, resulted in Valankulam gaining from only direct rain while sewage was also discharged into it.

Both the PWD and Siruthuli, the public initiative to revive tanks, were disillusioned by the condition of the canal when desilting of Valankulam had been taken up. Though Siruthuli carried out the desilting, it was made clear that the tank would not gain much even then as the canal, a vital waterway, remained in appalling condition.

With the other desilted tanks (both by PWD and Siruthuli) filling up owing to torrential rain, poor flow into Valankulam caused concern. It was now expected that once the canal work was completed, and the canal also protected from abuse in future, benevolent monsoons from now could lead to filling up of Valankulam and recharge groundwater in areas between Ukkadam and Sungam Junction.

Charge refuted

The sources refuted charges by a section of farmers that water from the Noyyal was diverted to the Kurichi Tank in violation of rules. Farmers of Kulathupalayam had complained to the district administration that while the Chinnakulam in their area was denied water from the Noyyal, it was actually being let into Kurichi tank by the PWD.

The farmers had alleged that water from the Chithiraichavadi Anaicut and flowing into the Noyyal was being let into the Kurichi Tank through the sand drain sluices in the river. With water not reaching Chinnakulam near Kuniamuthur, the wells in the agricultural lands in the area could not be recharged.

The sources said there were 20 tanks and as many anaicuts in and around Coimbatore and there was no discrimination in facilitating filling up of tanks. "Our aim is to ensure equitable distribution to all tanks. There is no violation of any sort in this exercise. The Kurichi tank had lost out on precious inflow when a canal connecting it with the Noyyal had breached. After the breach was repaired, the tank was experiencing an inflow that would help in recharging groundwater in that area."

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