TIRUCHY: A fund of Rs 5 crore has been sanctioned for removing hyacinth from the rivers and irrigation canals in Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts and Chief Minister MK Stalin inspected the process at a village in Tiruvarur on Monday.

On June 9, during Chief Minister Stalin’s visit to the Delta regions for inspection of desilt works, the farmers raised concerns about the thick cover of hyacinth in the water bodies, which choke the free flow of water. Soon, the Chief Minister sanctioned a fund of Rs 5 crore for Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts in phase 1 to ensure water reaching the tail end regions of the Cauvery Delta and the works commenced immediately.

On Monday, the Chief Minister who was in Tiruvarur inspected the removal of hyacinth at Odampokki Aaru at Tiruvarur taluk, which was undertaken at an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh. The Odampokki Aaru irrigates 29,835 acres in Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts. The river mixes in the sea at Kaduvaiyaru in Nagapattinam flowing via Ammayappan, Vilamal, Thandalai, Vijayapuram, Sikkal and Nariyankudi.

According to the Water Resources Department, which has been deputed on the work, the hyacinth has been spread from 126.100 to 129.800 km of Odampokki Aaru. Once the vegetation is removed, the water flow in the river as well as from the rain-fed canal would be eased.

The Chief Minister, who inspected the works, asked the officials to remove the vegetation on waterways across the Delta region so that the tail end parts would receive water without any hindrance.

Ministers KN Nehru and TRB Rajaa, MP TR Baalu, Collector T Charusree and others accompanied the Chief Minister.