Kuyiloor barrage in urgent need of repair

Kannur, Mahe to face brunt of water shortage

September 18, 2011 07:12 pm | Updated 07:12 pm IST - KANNUR:

KANNUR PAZHASSIBARRAGE

KANNUR PAZHASSIBARRAGE

The 16-shutter barrage built across the Valapattanam river at Kuyiloor near Mattannur as part of the Pazhassi Irrigation Project (PIP) stands as a physical testimony to the state of extreme disrepair the project has fallen into. PIP is now on its deathbed, 32 years after its partial commissioning by the then Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, with the State government winding it up. The barrage is also a reminder of the urgent need to protect and maintain the project's storage reservoir which is now a major source of water for the entire district and neighbouring Mahe.

The old radial shutters of the barrage and its operating mechanism are so corroded that one of them was damaged in 2009 and another, earlier this year. The mechanical wing of the Irrigation Department, entrusted to reconstruct the two radial shutters to replace the damaged ones at an estimated cost of Rs.1 crore, has nearly completed the work. With no further allocation of funds, the work is now stalled, leaving the entire project in limbo.

Water storage hit

According to project officials here, five shutters are not in operative condition due to heavy damage and the remaining 11 shutters are also in a dilapidated condition. Their replacement with new shutters is required for proper storage of water in the reservoir.

Water Resource Minister P.J. Joseph, during his visit here on July 7, said Rs.7 crore would be allocated for the replacement of the shutters. The project was wound up the next day. The timing for the work to get stalled could not be worse.

The shutters can be opened only during monsoon season and the repairs can only be conducted before November each year. The supply of drinking water by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) will be adversely affected if the repair work is not done before November. After November, the water should be stored in the reservoir. Already, the storage capacity of the reservoir is reduced by about 30 per cent due to heavy leakage through the radial shutters.

“Unless the entire operating mechanism and radial shutters are replaced in the coming few years, the water supply schemes for the entire district will be badly hit,” says a project official. At present, the project serves only the purpose of supplying drinking water in the summer season, he says, adding that there has been no water distribution from the reservoir for irrigation during the past two years because of lack of renovation and modernisation.

Irrigation

A project for modernisation of the barrage, estimated at Rs.20 crore, was submitted for sanction under the Malabar package, but was yet to get approval. The effective water storage capacity of the reservoir for irrigation purpose is 13 million cubic metres as per the water head available at the sill level of the canal sluice (system to control water level). For this purpose, the water level has to be raised to 24 metres of the reservoir so that water can be distributed through the canal system for less than a month after the end of monsoon.

Drinking water supply being the first priority now, water level is now being maintained at a minimum of 17 metres in the reservoir as it is nearly impossible to store water at the reservoir effectively due to leakages through the damaged shutters.

According to KWA officials, water level has to be maintained at 17 metres for the proper functioning of their drinking water schemes, including the Japanese-aided drinking water projects. The KWA's daily requirement of water for its 12 projects situated at the upstream of the barrages is 0.50 million cubic metres, they add.

Meanwhile, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has proposed a mini-hydel project at Kuyiloor to utilise the huge flood discharge through the Pazhassi barrage during the monsoon period. It is hoped that the maintenance fund for the upkeep of the barrage can be met from the funds to be allocated for the proposed Pazhassi Sagar project of the KSEB. The PIP officials say that shortage of technical staff has also seriously affected the proper maintenance of the barrage.

The PIP originally envisaged to irrigate 16,200 hectares of paddy fields in the district for two-crop cultivation, the extent of the area to irrigate has been reduced to 11,525 ha. as a result of rapid transformation of paddy fields into homesteads. The process of reclamation of paddy fields is still continuing. The project comprises a network of canal system, including a 46.26-km main canal, six branch canals totalling 74.82 km, and distributaries having a total length of 142.03 km.

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