Construction of retaining walls along the Kudamuritti River in the city would resume immediately, said P.Balasubramanian, Chief Engineer, Water Resources Organisation, Tiruchi Region, here on Wednesday.
The work, sanctioned under the flood control scheme, would be completed before September, Mr.Balasurbamanian told The Hindu . The work was suspended a couple of months back after retaining walls were constructed for some distance from the Puthur Weir. Meanwhile, the river bund has been eroded badly, with residents fearing possible breaches during the monsoon.
The Chief Engineer also indicated that the PWD would soon widen the Kudamuritti River as much as possible, without waiting for land acquisition as proposed under the flood control project. “We will increase the carrying capacity of Kudamuritti as much as possible even without acquiring lands to ensure that there was no flooding on account of overflow from the river during the monsoon this year,” he said.
Work on the construction of aqueduct at the Puthur Weir, which had come to a halt, would resume during the “next closure period” of the river.
The aqueduct, a unique structure in terms of design and size in the State, is one of the important components of the Rs.253.71-crore flood control project executed by the Public Works Department in Tiruchi, Karur and Ariyalur districts.
The aqueduct, sanctioned originally at a cost of Rs.7.85 crore, would carry the flow in the Uyyakondan channel and help the flow of the flood discharge from the Koraiyar directly into the Kudamuritti. The aqueduct would be a kind of huge box culvert above which inspection vehicles can run. It would have a capacity to carry about 700 cusecs of water.
Following some design changes in the structure, revised estimates were forwarded to the government for approval and the work had come to a halt pending the sanction.
Mr.Balasubramanianmaintained that the work has been suspended only because of the release of water for irrigation in the Uyyakondan River and it would resume during the next closure period of the river. Sanction for the revised estimates would be obtained soon.
Work has also resumed on the construction of a sand vent along the Uyyakondan River at Pulivalam, another component of the flood control scheme.
Answering a query, the Chief Engineer claimed that the price of sand has come down in the city after the opening of additional quarries. The income to the government from sand mining in the region has also doubled to cross Rs.10 crore a month, he said.
