Uyyakondan Canal getting rid of weeds

The canal, which has been subject to heavy urban pollution, has an ayacut of 32,000 acres and feeds 36 tanks

No more clogging: An earthmover engaged in removing water hyacinth from the Uyyakondan canal near Puthur in Tiruchi on Saturday.

The Public Works Department (River Conservation Division) has launched a drive to remove the thick and dense weed growth on the city stretch of the Uyyakondan canal.

The canal, which has been subject to heavy urban pollution, runs for a distance of about 71 km from Pettavaithalai to Vazhavanthankottai and has an ayacut of 32,000 acres and feeds 36 tanks. Several open drains and sewage from houses are let directly into the canal on a seven-km stretch between Palakkarai and Ariyamangalam.

Nearly 700 cusecs of water has been discharged into the canal and as farmers are preparing for samba cultivation, the removal of water hyacinth has become essential to ensure smooth flow of water.

PWD sources said that three earthmovers have been deployed to remove the weeds. “It is a tedious process. We have deployed a dozen men who actually carry out the hard task of cutting and pushing the weeds to a particular point from where the earthmovers lift them up. We are carrying out the process from Puthur to Ariyamangalam and the work will continue for the next few days until the entire urban stretch is rid of the weeds,” a PWD official told

The Hindu .

The PWD has requested the Corporation officials to extend its help in removing the mounds of weeds dumped on the sides of the canal.