A delegation of officials from Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) inspected Siruvani dam in the Palakkad district of Kerala on Friday. The dam is one of the main drinking water sources for Coimbatore city.
The officials, led by Superintending Engineer A. Senthil Kumar, were visiting the dam after two years.
The team held discussions with Levins Babu, executive engineer of Kerala Irrigation Department, and inspected the pumping stations and drawing wells. They also urged the Kerala irrigation department officials to maintain the dam at the full reservoir level of 878.50 m.
A TWAD board official, who visited the dam, told The Hindu that as per the dam safety instructions given by the Kerala government, the officials were maintaining the water level up to 877 m since Kerala floods in 2019.
On Friday, the dam was at 876.5 m and five cusecs of water was released as per the riparian rights to the Kerala side for the benefit of flora and fauna, the official added.
“Temporary arrangements were made along the roads that were damaged on the Tamil Nadu side because of heavy rain and landslips. The damage within Kerala side have to be repaired, and we have taken this up to their attention,” the official said.
The delegation also urged the Kerala counterparts to control and repair the minor damage to arrest seepage from the dam.
