A senior official of the Central Water Commission on Tuesday inspected the progress of work on the renovation of the Ponnaniyar dam in the Kadavur region on Tiruchi-Karur district border.
The scenic dam is renovated at a cost of about Rs. 2.50 crore under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) funded by the World Bank.
Situated about 66 km from Tiruchi, the dam is nestled between Perumal Malai and Semmalai. While the dam and its catchment area are located in Karur district, the ayacut area of the dam was spread over Mugavanur panchayat and neighbouring villages in Tiruchi district. The dam has 2,100 acres, mostly dry land.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa laid the foundation stone for the project on February 27. The work was expected to be completed within a year.
The dam built in 1974 has catchment area spread over 33.60 square miles. The dam stands 51 metres tall with a storage capacity of 120 million cubic feet (mcft). This is the first major renovation to be taken up in the structure. Various parts of the dam structure would be repaired and strengthened, PWD sources said. On Tuesday, Mr. Nathan, accompanied by Meenakshisundaram, Special Chief Engineer, Dam Safety, Chennai, K. Madhavan, Superintending Engineer, Mid Cauvery basin, and V.Selvaraj, Executive Engineer, PWD Ariyar Division, inspected the progress of works.
