Begin typing your search...
PWD refutes EPS claim, says Mettur Dam’s 1st desilting unlikely soon
In a bid to clarify Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy’s statement on the first desilting work at Mettur Dam beginning next week, the Public Works Department (PWD) officials have stated that the CM was only referring to permission given to the farmers to collect silt from the area adjoining the dam for free for agricultural purposes.
By
migrator
migrator
Coimbatore
“Technically it is not desilting. Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Union Ministry of Water Resources that has been hired by the State to study desilting, is yet to complete the Detailed Project Report (DPR),” an official told DTNext.
Sources said that five weeks ago, an eight-member WAPCOS team started field level ‘Capacity Survey’ using remote sensing technology. They completed the three-week survey last week and are consolidating the study results.
A senior WAPCOS official told this paper that it could take another 15 days for them to prepare the DPR and submit it to the department concerned, which, in turn, would study it and submit it to the State government.
PWD officials said that till the report is submitted the volume of silt cannot be ascertained. On Saturday, the water level in the dam stood at 19.79 ft with 4.04 TMC (one thousand million cubic feet) against its actual capacity of 120 ft with 93.5 TMC.
But officials said that in 2013 the water level had dipped to 15.5 ft with no silt. “However, the silt deposit can vary based on the volume of water and the speed at which it reaches the dam,” an official said, adding, this is the right time to desilt the dam as the water level is low.
With the monsoon set to arrive in less than 10 days, an official said, “The current capacity looks impossible for the sluices of Stanley Reservoir to be opened for the ‘kuruvai crop’ irrigation in the delta region on June 12 – the scheduled date of release.”
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
Next Story
