The Hindu : Front Page : Irukkangudi dam commissioned

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Sunday, Feb 22, 2009
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Irukkangudi dam commissioned

Staff Reporter

SATTUR: On completion of construction work of a high-level bridge, part of the Irukkangudi reservoir project, the dam was officially commissioned on Saturday.

The Minister for Backward Classes, K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, inaugurated the Rs. 74-crore project in the presence of Minister for School Education, Thangam Thennarasu.

The construction of the dam across the place where the Arjuna and Vaippar rivers merge, sanctioned in 1992, was completed in 2006. However, water could not be stored in subsequent years as it submerged the road connecting Sattur and Irukkangudi. People of several villages objected to storing water, without constructing the high-level bridge of a new stretch of elevated road, as they had to take circuitous route on unmotorable roads.

However, the Government sanctioned the required funds for the revised budget in 2007 leading to completion of the project aimed at storing 500 mcft of surplus water that usually drains into the sea.

Inaugurating the dam, Mr. Ramachandran said that the high-level bridge would be thrown open for buses on March 15, as the concrete structure required some more curing time. The project was meant to provide rehabilitation for people of the backward region. Besides, irrigating vast stretch of agricultural land in Tuticorin district, the dam would provide good relief, as a tourist spot, for the people of the district.

Mr. Ramachandran said that he would take all efforts to bring a park at a cost of Rs. 60 lakh to attract tourists. He also promised to introduce boating facility since the dam would have at least 10 feet of water throughout the year.

The Minister also said that the single-lane road connecting Madurai-Tirunelveli highway with the Madurai-Tuticorin highway through Irrukkangudi would be double-laned to provide impetus for industrial development of the region.

The Government had sanctioned funds for acquisition of 2,200 acres for the proposed special economic zone near Sattur, he added.

Mr. Thennarasu said that it was only during the Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi’s regime that such development works were planned and also executed. The PWD Secretary, S. Audiseshiah, said the inter-linking of rivers project, by merging Tamirabarani with Karumeniyar and Nambiar, was pioneering project in the country.

The Collector, K. Raghupathi, said Virudhunagar district being in a rain-shadow region required more such dams to tap every little drop of rain.

The Chief Engineer, P. Ramamoorthy, said that 1,274.07 acres of wetland would get assured irrigation besides irrigation facility for 9,156 acres of dry land.

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