: The Tiruchi Corporation has launched a drive to clear the silt from the Varaganeri Irattai Vaical, a major drain, in the city ahead of the monsoon.
It has taken up the work from Varaganeri Kuzhmikarai to Ananda Avenue for a stretch of about 2.25 km in Ariyamangalam zone, a corporation engineer said. The work has been sanctioned at an estimate of Rs.6 lakh. The desilting of this stretch, which has been going go on for the past 10 days, is expected to be completed in a week.
On Tuesday, Corporation Commissioner N.Ravichandran inspected the progress of the work along with senior officials.
Once an irrigation course that flourished with lush green fields, the Irattai Vaical runs across the densely populated areas of Varaganeri and Tharanallur. Down the years, it has been reduced a massive sewage canal. The canal was part of an irrigation network comprising eight different channels feeding several acres of fields years ago. All the eight channels were previously under the control of the Public Works Department and are now under the maintenance of the corporation. In the absence of a proper storm-water disposal mechanism, they have come to serve as drainages. Heavy silt accumulation, garbage and plastic waste clog their course at several places.
Officials said earth-movers have been deployed to remove the silt and removed silt was being taken away on lorries. At places where machines could not be deployed, the silt would be removed manually, the officials said.
