The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Fast flows the Vaigai

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 22, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Fast flows the Vaigai

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: : The Public Works Department officials, who released water from Vaigai dam for Chithirai festival on Wednesday evening, are confronted with a peculiar problem this year.

The water flowed so fast through the nearly 70 km-stretch to reach the city in 24 hours.

The officials, who had to guide the water with cutting a baby channel on the riverbed using bulldozers the year before last, are now attempting to `stop the flow' of water.

The water was released from the dam at 6 p.m. The officials planned a "rush-flow" with an initial discharge of 2,000 cusecs so that water reached the city on time — before Lord Kallazhagar entered the river.

However, the wet riverbed (due to heavy showers in the recent days) and the continuous drizzle all along the river catchment areas speeded up the water flow.

Though the discharge from the Vaigai reservoir was reduced to 1,000 cusecs at 6 a.m. on Thursday, water continued to gush through in an accelerated pace.

The flow was then restricted to 200 cusecs late in the evening. Besides, the officials started storing the water at the Nilayur Bed dam to stop wastage.

"We will store water upto two feet in the bed dam," the Executive Engineer, Periyar-Vaigai Basin Circle, K. Pandikaruppanan, said.

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