The earthen bund of an old mini dam in Punganur panchayat in Timiri block breached on Sunday morning. Following the breach in the Vellakulam mini dam bund, a flash flood occurred along the surplus course, inundating several agricultural fields.
Revenue officers said the mini dam was constructed in 1980s. The breach occurred at about 8.30 a.m. The water storage area comes under the Punganur reserve forest.
The mini dam received water following heavy rainfall during the month of November. The water level swelled, reaching the dam’s full capacity recently much to the delight of residents, especially farmers.
However, the old structure gave in on Sunday morning. There was a flash flood along the surplus course. The water submerged crops raised on several agricultural fields in the panchayat.
The Arcot Tahsildar and officers of the Timiri Block Development Office (BDO) had visited the spot following the breach.
Repairing works on
“The BDO has taken up repair works at the mini dam. The dam’s structure is very old and has not been maintained as the district has not received rains for several years,” an official said.
The official said that at least 20,000 sand bags were required to plug the breach. “The engineer has taken up temporary measures to plug the breach. We will have to take up construction work to strengthen the bund,” the official added.
The water from the mini dam damaged crops, including banana plantations, in several fields. Revenue officials said the crop damage will be assessed soon.
An electricity pole on an agricultural field slanted in the impact of the water flow.
Officials also pointed out that the surplus water from the dam has to flow to two Public Works Department tanks.
However, the breach did not lead to flow of water to the tanks, which had already filled up, as it would have caused breaches in the tanks too.
The water submerged crops raised on several agricultural fields in the panchayat
