Water storage in Poigai dam in Kanniyakumari district has reached its capacity 21 years after it was commissioned by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. The capacity of the dam in Aralvaimozhi is 42.65 ft.
“Even though copious rain in the district contributed to the dam to reach its capacity, renovation works carried out in Chunganodai and Irappaiyar ensured that the water reached the dam,” explained A. Vasanthi, PWD Executive Engineer, who is additional in-charge-of Kodayar river basin.
She said renovation work was done in 2017 in areas, which were totally inaccessible for 7 km. “The goods necessary for renovation were transported by donkeys. In 2019, the water storage reached 33 feet,” A. Vasanthi said.
The dam would feed eight tanks and irrigate over 383 hectares in Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts.
N. Rakkisamuthu, a farmer from Shenbagaramanputhur, said the government should repair the channels and water bodies so that the agriculture could be continued in areas regularly irrigated before the construction of the dam.
“We made use of the water from Poigai river and tanks fed by it and cultivated dry crops. Paddy was cultivated as a second crop. The dam created an uncertainty as water would be released only if there is adequate storage. A lot of agricultural lands have been sold for other purposes in the last two decades,” he said.
