Corroded shutters make Viraghanoor Regulator less useful for farmers

Farmers in Madurai, Sivaganga demand replacement of damaged shutters to enable proper irrigation through two canals.

Water leakage through damaged shutters does not allow it to flow through two canals to irrigate ayacut in Madurai, Sivaganga districts, complain farmers

Madurai Corrosion by highly-polluted water stagnant in Viraghanoor Regulator across Vaigai river has failed the 50-year-old structure constructed to irrigate 47,700 acres of acayacut in Madurai and Sivaganga districts through two canals.

Farmers have demanded to replace the shutters to store adequate water for enabling drawing of water through Right Main Canal and Left Main Canal.

“It was the late Chief Minsiter M. Karunanidhi who had inaugurated the regulator in 1974 that helped in irrigation of the ayacut along both the banks in Madurai and Sivaganga districts,” said president of Tiruppuvanam Irrigation Tanks Water Users’ Association R. Palanivelrajan.

With the riverbed of Vaigai gone lower than the level of the water tanks, the regulator was constructed to raise the water level so that it could flow through the canals and fill the tanks to irrigate the farmlands. The farmers are benefited through 87 tanks. The Left Main Canal runs for 32 km and the Right Main Canal runs for 20 km.

While paddy is the main crop cultivated in this region, the water is used for other crops like coconut, plantains, sugarcane and betel leaves, he added.

“However, over a period of seven to 10 years, we have been facing a major problem as the sluices have faced corrosion and instead of holding the water on the riverbed to help water flow through the canal located a few feet above the Vaigai riverbed, the water flows through the cavities of the sluices,” Mr. Palanivelrajan complained.