Additional water for irrigation is being released from Kuppanatham dam in Chengam, near Tiruvannamalai, following requests from farmers, said State Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu on Saturday.
Officials said the water would be released until May 4. This would benefit farmers in 40 villages in Chengam and Kalasapakkam taluks, irrigating 9,432 acres of paddy fields in these areas.
At present, the excess water from the dam is discharged into 47 waterbodies in the district, thereby recharging the water table in and around these villages. As these villages are located on the foot of the Jawadhu Hills, water from smaller waterbodies like ponds, lakes and streams are crucial to meet their domestic needs. Most of the farmers in these villages cultivate their lands through tank irrigation.
Similarly, water for irrigation was being released from Sathanur dam in Thandrampattu, near Tiruvannamalai. The water would be released for 45 days, up to May 19. It would benefit 20,086 acres of farming land on both sides of the dam, covering 34 villages in the district. Around 57 villages in Kallakurichi and 15 villages in Villupuram districts would also benefit from the release of water from the dam, officials added.
At present, the Sathanur dam has a storage of 3,300 million cubic feet (mcft) against its capacity of 7,321 mcft. Of this, 1,925.24 mcft water would be released for irrigation. The remaining water would be maintained to compensate for loss of water due to evaporation, officials said.
On the occasion, Tiruvannamalai Collector B. Murugesh, Additional Collector (Development) M. Pratap, Member of Parliament (Tiruvannamalai) C. N. Annadurai, MLAs M.P. Giri (Chengam) and P.S.T. Saravanan (Kalasapakkam) were present.
