Early desilting work begins across Cauvery delta

Trichy: Desilting of irrigation and drainage channels has commenced in Trichy and the Cauvery delta districts, a month ahead of schedule, to ensure smooth release and distribution of Cauvery water later this year.In Trichy district, part of the Middle Cauvery region, 314 km of channels will be desilted through 112 works at a cost of Rs 15.4 crore. A senior water resources department official said starting early would help complete the works on time. "Since we began a month earlier than in previous years, the works are progressing smoothly and are expected to be completed before the deadline," the official said. In the four delta districts — Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai — more than 4,008 km of channels will be taken up under 672 works, at a cost of over Rs 62.8 crore. Overall, the department plans to desilt 4,972 km of A and B category channels through 959 works under the Special Desilting Scheme, with a total outlay of Rs 100 crore. The scheme covers 12 districts along the Cauvery basin: Trichy, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukkottai, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Karur, Salem, Namakkal and Erode. 'Swamimalai' Vimalanathan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association ' Vimalanathan "The works must be executed in such a way that Cauvery water reaches the fields without any delay. WRD also ensure that fields drain properly through the drainage channels during both the monsoon and unseasonal rains."Vimalanathan further recommended that the entire desilting process should be undertaken exclusively by the Agricultural Engineering Department.The agricultural engineering department will soon begin desilting 2,375 km of C and D channels at a cost of Rs 10 crore in seven districts — Trichy, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Ariyalur and Cuddalore. Meanwhile, the rural development department will take up smaller interior channels under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), which has replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. While earthmovers will be deployed for larger A, B, C and D channels, narrower channels will be cleared manually.