DMK chief MK Stalin inspects Mukkombu dam

DMK chief MK Stain on Monday inspected the much-talked-about Mukkombu dam in Trichy. He, along with former MP Trichy Siva, TR Balu, KN Nehru also inspected the works that were proceeding to fix the damages caused in the dam.

Talking to reporters after inspecting the dam, DMK President MK Stalin alleged that the government's indifference had led to the collapse of the shutters.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami had on August 24 said repair work would be completed soon, but only 40 per cent of the work had been completed so far, he claimed.

The dam, with a total of 45 shutters and 6.3-metre width, was used for irrigation purpose and also linked the Vathalai areas.

Nine of the 45 shutters of Mukkombu regulator dam collapsed on August 22 due to continuous heavy flow of water in the preceding days.

Since Mettur was full owing to the heavy rain in Karnataka, 2.50 lakh cusecs of water reached Mukkombu and 1.75 lakh cusecs of water was released into Kollidam and 65,000 cusecs of water released into the Cauvery.

Hi-tech civil engineers from Thoothukudi had earlier examined the dam thoroughly.

After the examination, the civil engineers reportedly said that there were few more damages in the Kollidam dam and that there were cracks in the lower platform of the dam.