The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Irrigation canals need widening

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 26, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Irrigation canals need widening

Special Correspondent

A study in Nagapattinam

CHENNAI: Widening and desilting of irrigation and drainage channels to the required capacity, dredging all river mouths, linking of drains and providing proper location of in-fall points of minor drains into the main drain are among the recommendations made by a study conducted in Nagapattinam district.

The "mapping and study of coastal water bodies," done by the NGO Coordination and Resource Centre (NCRC), Nagapattinam, pertained not only to mapping the coastal water bodies but also ways to use floodwater for agriculture and drinking water supply and recharging the groundwater table.

Another suggestion was that monsoon floodwater from the catchments in the upland tracts lying southwest of the delta should either be detained in the upland itself through watershed development, or the runoff should be diverted to areas other than the Vennar sub-basin. The groundwater table could be recharged by constructing deep borewells and pumping the water to flush saltwater out to the sea. Improving soil fertility and water management and introduction of advanced irrigation methods are among the other recommendations.

The four-month study covered 92,851 hectares in all taluks, except Mayiladuthurai, out of the district's total area of 2,71,583 hectares. It covered 148 revenue villages, including 779 hamlets. The aims were bringing agriculture to the forefront of priorities and debating various approaches to the best sustainable solution for Nagapattinam.

PWD Minister Durai Murugan released the report on Wednesday. The first copy was received by S. Ranganathan, general secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers Association.

R.K. Sivanappan, senior consultant on water resource management, who was the leader of the team, said Rs.3500 crore would be required for the works, which could be completed, in phases, in 10 years. The cost would have been about Rs.1, 000 crore in the early 1980s. Hence, early action was needed.

The Minister said his department would go into the study. Formulating a scheme and implementing it over the next three-four years in phases might be possible. The World Bank had come forward to provide assistance.

He said the Government was considering prosecuting those who encroached upon PWD land. Earlier, Tsunami Rehab Information Network (TRINet), on behalf of the NCRC, organised a State-level consultative meeting on coastal water bodies in Nagapattinam district.

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