Tamil Nadu - Thanjavur   

Kollidam yet again demonstrates its use as flood carrier

G.Srinivasan

It carried over 2 lakh cusecs, saved Thanjavur

BEARING THE BURDEN: The Kollidam in full flow in Tiruchi. — Photo: M. Moorthy

THANJAVUR: The word, `Kollidam', means a place that can contain or fit things. True to its name, the usually dry river carried a surplus of 2.25 lakh cusecs of water from the Cauvery on October 26 and 27. It came to the rescue of people in composite Thanjavur district. Otherwise, the district would also have suffered as did Tiruchi, Karur and Erode.

While 2.25 lakh cusecs was released into the Kollidam — 1.50 lakh cusecs from the Upper Anicut and 75,000 cusecs from the Grand Anicut — at 8 a.m. on October 26, flood water swelled to 2.75 lakh cusecs, as it crossed Anaikarai near Kumbakonam that evening. This was because more water joined the Kollidam from various canals down the Grand Anicut and as rain lashed the districts, PWD engineers said. Wherever the banks were weak, people and authorities strengthened them. Timely action at Vazhkai in Papanasam taluk and Anakudi and Okkakudi in Tiruvaiyaru taluk prevented breaches.

It was a well thought-out decision to divert the surplus into the Kollidam without flooding the Cauvery, the Vennar or the Grand Anicut canal. The discharge into the Cauvery and the Vennar was maintained at 3,000 cusecs each, while it was 1,500 cusecs in the Grand Anicut. As the Kollidam can take even three lakh cusecs, all surplus water was discharged into it.

The people of the composite Thanjavur district, who heaved a sigh of relief after two days of anxiety, feel that the Kollidam as a flood carrier should not be disturbed.

While the possibility of conveying the surplus water from the Kollidam through a new canal to Pudukottai district from the Grand Anicut can be explored, the river, with a width of 1.8 km, that runs for nearly 160 km should be left as a flood carrier, as its importance was demonstrated after 44 years. "Even suggestions for construction of bed dams in the Kollidam to save water or sub-surface dykes planned when the New Veeranam scheme was under consideration should not be attempted. That will hinder the flow of water, causing breaches on occasions like the ones on October 26 and 27," say experts.

In the calculation by people of the water-starved (for cultivation) composite Thanjavur district, thanks to the Cauvery issue, 21 tmc of water has drained into the sea. Water released into the Kollidam could have been utilised for 21 days of irrigation at one tmc a day. "Why can't we find ways of saving water"? But irrigation experts say there is no way of saving such a surplus in an alarming situation, which occurs once in 40 or 50 years.

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