Survey proceedings for the proposed dam across the Kadamanthodu River, a tributary of the Kabani, at Pulpally in Wayanad, is under way even as local residents and environmental organisations have raised concern over the project.
The project envisages utilising a small portion of water awarded to the State by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal around 16 years ago. Though the district is contributing nearly 100 to 120 tmcft of water to the Cauvery every year, successive governments have failed to execute a single project to utilise the water.
Though the tribunal had awarded 30 tmcft of water to the State from the three river basins such as Kabani (21 tmcft) in Wayanad, Bhavani (6 tmcft) in Attappady, Palakkad, and Pambar (3 tmcft) in Idukki around 16 years ago, no projects have materialised.
Eleven projects had been envisaged under the Kabani river basin alone. Though the Karapuzha dam, the first project taken up in the three river basins, was partially commissioned in 2010, the full potential of the reservoir is yet to be tapped for various reasons. The fate of the Banasura Sagar dam project is not different.
However, the Water Resources department launched the Light, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey on October 17 in the Kabani Circle after an interval of four decades. The ground control point (GCP) marking in the drone LiDAR mapping has been completed in 42 locations of the 60 locations. The number of buildings, their size, roads, and powerlines in the project site will be marked during the survey. A feasibility study report will be submitted to the Central Water Commission after completing the GCP markings in the remaining area.
The volume capacity of the reservoir and an exact picture of the inundation area could be estimated after the survey, Water Resources department sources said.
Meanwhile, a Dam Virudha Karma Samiti, a public action council against the proposed dam, in association with the Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti is preparing to intensify agitations against the construction of the dam claiming that the project would adversely affect hundreds of farmers.
