Water was released from the Sathanur dam in Tiruvannamalai on Saturday, after the level reached 118.55 feet as against the dam’s total capacity of 119 feet.
Accompanied by Collector, B. Murugesh, Minister for PWD, Highways and Minor Ports, E.V. Velu opened the sluice gates of the dam that is located 8 km away from the reservoir downstream.
Water will be released into the river, and distributed to the left and right bank canals from the pick-up dam, for 90 days (up to June 8) for irrigation. The water will irrigate 45,000 acres of agricultural land in Tiruvannamalai.
Every day, on an average, 570 cusecs of water will be released from the dam for farming. “Cultivators should utilise the water judiciously as the water is required for drinking purposes of the villages in the district,” Collector Mr. Murugesh said. Of the total storage capacity of 7,321 mcft of water, the dam had storage of 7,220 mcft on Saturday.
Three phases of water release
As requested by farmers, water will be released in three phases before April 30, from Anaicut in Tirukoilur taluk of neighbouring Kallakurichi district to irrigate around 5,000 acres of farmland.
Public Works Department (PWD) officials said this is the first time after many years that the dam was able to store water to its full capacity of 119 ft, since its inception way back in 1958. This was made possible after the old sluice gates were replaced with new ones, in a massive restoration project of the dam that took place in June 2022 Earlier, water was stored only up to 99 ft, considering the safety of the structure, especially its rusted sluice gates.
Every year, 4 tmc of water is stored in the dam for irrigation. The dam also helps to store water in 88 tanks along the route in these districts. While water from the dam’s Left Bank Canal feeds 30 tanks in Tiruvannamalai and 10 in Villupuram, the Right Bank Canal is connected to 48 tanks in Villupuram. The dam also provides at least 2 tmc water for domestic consumption of residents in at least 150 villages and major towns like Chengam and Tiruvannamalai, without reducing its deck storage level of 56 ft.
Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, K. Pichandi, who is also the local MLA for the Keel Pennathur assembly constituency in Tiruvannamalai, C.N. Annadurai, MP (Tiruvannamalai), and B. Rajesh, Assistant Engineer (AE), WRD (Sathanur Dam), participated on the occasion.
