Construction of Kottarai Dam across the Marudaiyar in Perambalur district has resumed and is nearing completion. The work was delayed due to COVID-19 lockdown, officials said.
The project, announced in 2013 by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, was allocated ₹108 crore. The reservoir would have a capacity to hold 211.5 million cubic feet capacity.
Work on the project began in 2016, but many impediments caused its suspension. From 2016 to 2019, 70% of the work was completed.
“The project was supposed to have been completed in two years, but we still do not have a reservoir,” local farmers said.
Nearly 500 acres of land was acquired from farmers in 2016 and ₹6 lakh per acre was given as compensation. “The money is spent and many of us are unemployed or working as labourers,” said Rajanandham, a maize farmer in Kottarai.
“I married off my daughter with that money, while many men spent it on alcohol. If the land was still ours, we would have been able to grow crops and reap its benefits each year. Now, we have no income,” he rued.
However, a senior official of the Public Works Department said work was nearing completion and would be inaugurated soon. “Minor works such as construction of a canal remains to be done.”
"Due to monsoon, flowing water would weaken any construction. The work will be done in January, and by February, the reservoir will be opened,” the official added.
