HC asks Collectors to take steps to clean channel

It was meant to enable water supply for irrigation in Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari districts

MADURAI

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday asked the Collectors of Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari to file status reports in a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to clean a channel that connected Alanthurai river and Suravali dam.

A Division Bench of Justices T. S. Sivagnanam and R. Tharani ordered that steps be taken to clean the channel, which was allegedly filled with debris, wild growth of vegetation and boulders. The petitioner, former MLA M. Appavu, sought a direction to the authorities to clean the channel that passed through a reserve forest in Kanniyakumari district.

He said that Alanthurai river ran through Kanniyakumari district for most part. In 1969, the State government formulated a scheme for using its water. A small dam was constructed across the river at Kanjipparai. The high-level channel connected the river and Suravali dam, from where water was distributed to tanks in Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari districts in the ratio of 60:40.

However, with the channel not having been cleaned up, free passage of water to the village tanks was disrupted, the petitioner said.

Efforts taken to clean the channel had not yielded results. Though the region received good rain during the southwest monsoon, water had not reached the tanks to irrigate lands. If the channel was not cleaned, the livelihood of farmers would be affected, he said.