The Public Works Department is able to heave a sigh of relief as water hyacinth that formed a mat on the surface of stagnant water in the Perumpallam Anicut is drying up.
Draining of the stagnant water into the canal for the purpose of desiltation, after a gap of several years, is causing the death of the dreaded weed that had depleted several fishes in the tank. When water was released recently into the Nanjai Uthukuli canal, a huge number of dead fishes were found floating.
The PWD has reportedly impressed upon the government the imperative need for regular fund allotments to control, if not completely eliminate, the weed.
Though researchers at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University have established that the weed that grows rampantly in tropical and sub-tropical conditions could be converted into organic manure, farmers in the district are not keen to tap its utility.
They are reluctant to use the weed in any form due to its invasive nature.
