Water released from Vaigai dam to provide supplementary irrigation for the farmers of the district, reached the bed dam at Thelichathanallur near Paramakudi on Wednesday.
Sources in the irrigation wing of the Public Works Department (PWD) said that after released from Vaigai dam at 11.20 a.m. on November 28, the water reached Parthibanur regulator on Tuesday, traversing a distance of 137 km.
It reached the bed dam at the early hours of Wednesday covering a distance of 45 km and expected to reach the Big Tank on Thursday afternoon, the sources said. This was the first time water was saved at the recently built bed dams at Kamudhakudi and Thelichathanallur, the sources said.
The water would reach the Big Tank after reaching Kunappanendal and Kalari bed dams, the sources said. The water would be diverted to 241 system tanks in the district to supplement the irrigation requirements of farmers cultivating about 40,000 acres of land, the sources said.
The government had ordered release 1,400 mcft of water from Vaigai dam in response to a proposal sent by the district administration on November 16 against the district’s full credit of 2,400 mcft. The discharge would be closed on December 5, after which the district administration would stake claim for additional quantum of water, the sources said.
As the district has so far received just normal rainfall during the northeast monsoon, farmers here look up to the water in Vaigai dam to supplement the irrigation requirements. Farmers in Sivaganga also staked claim for their full credits of water from the dam.
The Vaigai water is shared by Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga districts on 2:7:3 basis. Meanwhile, farmers have demanded that the government revise the share of water among the three districts taking into consideration that Vaigai dam received additional water from Periyar dam.
