Dredging of Nanjai Uthukuli irrigation canal taken up after eight years

Dredging of Nanjai Uthukuli canal to benefit farmland and recharge groundwater, expected to be completed soon.

Work on dredging the Nanjai Uthukuli irrigation canal began after eight years. This is expected to help irrigate 2,450 acres of farmland as well as recharging groundwater in many village panchayats in the district.

The 15 k.m. long Perumpallam canal, which begins from Kadirampatti in the city and passes through Surampatti before entering River Cauvery at Vendipalayam, is fed by seepage from Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) canal and rainwater. An anicut was constructed across the canal at Surampatti in 1966 to store the water. In the downstream of the canal, a secondary canal, Nanjai Uthukuli canal, branches off from the anicut that flows through Kasipalayam, Shastri Nagar, Moolapalayam, Nochikattuvalasu, Karukkampalayam, Subbarayavalasu, Lakkapuram, 46 Pudur, Muthugoundenpalayam, Chinniyampalayam and Nanjai Uthukuli. The canal ends its journey near a wetland at Chavadipalayam Pudur.

However, rapid urbanisation led to the development of residential blocks along the area, and the canal soon turned into a dumping ground for new residents, thereby affecting its flow. With plastic waste and other garbage clogging the movement of water, the canal was last dredged in 2015 jointly by the Olirum Erodu Foundation and Tamilaga Vivasaigal Sangam jointly de-silted and deepened the canal. However, due to continued dumping and poor maintenance, the canal became overgrown with bushes, blocking water movement and prompting farmers to call for further dredging.

Recently, Minister for Housing and Urban Development S. Muthusamy, along with Mayor S. Nagarathinam and Corporation Commissioner Narnaware Manish Shankarrao, inaugurated the dredging work along the entire canal stretch. The project is being undertaken with contributions from the Water Resources Department and private organisations. A long-reach excavator with an extended arm is being used to clear the canal of waste. The work is expected to be completed within a few weeks.

Farmers anticipate that during the rainy season, the anicut will receive copious water, allowing it to flow through the canal. “The canal helps recharge groundwater in many village panchayats, benefiting thousands of households and farmlands,” said a farmer from Subbarayavalasu.