The Amaravathi dam in Udumalpet has not been desilted for the last 64 years. About 15-20 per cent of the total capacity is sand and silt. Officials said there was a problem in desilting this year also due to the presence of more than 54 feet of water.
Tirupur: Due to the rise in the water level in the Amaravathi dam in Udumalpet, there has been a problem in carrying out desilting work this year as well, officials said.
Amaravathi Dam near Udumalai in Tirupur district was constructed in 1958 and came into use in 1959. The Amaravathi dam is designed to have a capacity of 4 TMC and use 10 TMC of water annually.
54,637 acres of land in Tirupur and Karur districts are being irrigated through this dam. In the old ayacut irrigation, there are three crops of paddy and in the new ayakattu irrigated land, sugarcane, coconut, vegetable and cereal crops have been cultivated.
As the Amaravathi dam has not been desilted for the last 64 years, sand and silt have accumulated 15 to 20 per cent of the total water-logged area. If these are properly removed and desilted, 800 million cubic feet of water can be released.
The farmers had been demanding desilting of the dam for many years to provide additional water available during the rainy season to irrigated land. A few years ago, in the Tamil Nadu budget, it was announced that the Amaravathi dam would be desilted and restored to its old capacity.
If the dam is desilted, the government will get revenue from the sand silt extracted. Soil fertility will increase in the fields. For the last three years, the dam has not been desilted due to satisfactory monsoons and the water level in the dam has not receded.
At present, the Amaravathi dam is filled with 54.50 feet of water out of the total 90 feet. As a result, there is no possibility of desilting work in the current year as well.
Public Works Department officials said,
The project report is prepared and sent every year. Desilting can be done only if the water stock is less than 25 feet in April. Though the funds are ready, the work could not be started as there was water, they said.