Falling groundwater levels spur call for desilting of Chithiraichavadi check dam on Noyyal

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The dry riverbed covered with vegetation at the Chithiraichavadi check dam in Thondamuthur, Coimbatore, on Sunday. | Photo Credit: M. Periasamy

With River Noyyal running dry and groundwater levels falling sharply, farmers in Thondamuthur in Coimbatore district have urged the Water Resources Department (WRD) to desilt the Chithiraichavadi check dam ahead of the northeast monsoon.

The check dam, the first across the Noyyal in the region, has not been desilted for more than 30 years, the farmers said. Sand deposits have accumulated to a level higher than the retaining structure, while reeds growing up to 10 feet have spread across the riverbed.

The check dam feeds the Keezh Chithiraichavadi channel, which supplies water to more than 10 tanks. Farmers said desilting the check dam now will enable it to retain monsoon flows and help improve groundwater.

Thondamuthur block has 10 panchayat villages, with a total cultivated area of around 12,500 hectares.

“Groundwater, which was available at around 400 feet when the Noyyal carried water, has now fallen below 700 feet. The water table in agricultural fields along the river, where groundwater was earlier available at 150 to 200 feet, has also declined. This is the right time to desilt the check dam so that water received during the monsoon can be stored and groundwater recharge improved,” said R. Periyasamy, district vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association.

Meanwhile, the Kovai Kulangal Padhukappu Amaippu has urged the Coimbatore Corporation to stop dumping of garbage beneath the Noyyal bridge and along its banks at Aatrumeedu in Nanjundapuram (Ward 62). It has sought removal of the accumulated waste and measures to prevent further dumping.

A WRD official said the Department plans to desilt the check dam with the support of a private organisation. A senior Corporation sanitary official said the source of the waste will be traced to prevent further dumping and that the accumulated waste will be removed.

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