A four-member expert team from the Kerala Engineering Research Institute (KERI) began validation of the Light, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey conducted recently by the Water Resources department. The survey was conducted as a part of the proposed project to construct a dam across the Kadamanthodu river, a tributary of the Kabani.
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal had awarded 21 tmcft of water to the State from the river basin. The proposed project is aimed at addressing the drought-like situation in Pulpally and Mullankolly areas on the Kerala-Karnataka border during summer and utilising a small amount of water granted by the tribunal.
The LiDAR survey was conducted as a continuation of a survey done by the Geological Survey of India four months ago. The validation processes that started in the reservoir area at Anappara on Friday were completed on Saturday. A team led by T.V. Siji, Deputy Director, Coastal Engineering division, KERI, Peechi, checked the ground control points fixed during the LiDAR survey.
The survey in the project area of the dam would conclude in two days, sources said.
The KERI team will submit a report to officials of the Cauvery project division, Sulthan Bathery. It will submit the report to the chief engineer of the division after compiling documents by the first week of January. It would be presented at an all-party meeting by the middle of January, sources added.
Details such as the area required for the construction of the reservoir, number of families to be evicted, and the exact height and width of the dam will be presented at the meeting. A detailed project report would be submitted to the Central Water Commission, and the construction work would be launched after getting the commission’s consent, the sources added.
