Water was released from the Kuppanatham dam in Chengam taluk on Wednesday to help farmers in Chengam region.
The water, to be released for five days, will be used in the irrigation of over 795.31 acres of land and will be stored in lakes enroute, according to Water Resources Department (WRD) officials.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Sevoor S. Ramachandran opened the sluice gates in the presence of Collector K.S. Kandasamy.
The water will reach Chengam and Thokkavadi lakes, rejuvenating the groundwater table upto Iraiyur reservoir, which is 32 km away from the Kuppanatham dam. The water level stood at 35.18 ft as against the dam’s total height of 59.04 ft on Wednesday. The dam’s total capacity is 700 mcft and currently holds 222.40 mcft.
The beneficiaries were urged to use water judiciously and adhere to the advice of WRD officials by Mr. Kandasamy.
P. Rathinasamy, District Revenue Officer, Sridevi, Revenue Divisional Officer, Tiruvannamalai, E. Mahendran, Executive Engineer, Central Pennaiyar River Basin Division, WRD and A. Subramanian, Assistant Executive Engineer, WRD participated.
