The State government is in talks with the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) for desilting five dam reservoirs managed by the Irrigation department.
Discussions are under way with the DCI for undertaking the desiltation of the Malampuzha, Karapuzha, Malankara, Maniyar, and Pazhassi reservoirs for restoring their water storage capacity. These five reservoirs are among 16 whose capacity to store water has shrunk owing to accumulation of sand and silt, according to the Irrigation department.
Empowered committee
The State government had formed a high-level empowered committee and a technical committee to oversee the desiltation of various dams.
In August, Minister for Water Resources Roshy Augustine had informed the Assembly about the discussions with the DCI.
In the case of the other dams under the Irrigation department, the empowered committee, at a meeting on May 30, had decided to entrust the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation (KIIDC) with desilting the Aruvikkara dam in Thiruvananthapuram district, managed by the Kerala Water Authority. The KIIDC, an Irrigation department agency, is also handling the desiltation of the Chulliyar dam in Palakkad.
The desiltation of the Walayar and Meenkara dams had been entrusted with the Kerala Mineral Development Corporation.
Although work on the Mangalam dam had been launched as a pilot project in December 2020, the empowered committee, in May this year, had recommended termination of the contract as the work did not progress along the planned trajectory. As much as 1,55,941 cubic metres of silt and wastes had been removed as part of this project.
