Minister for Water Resources Duraimurgan on Tuesday inspected Mordhana Dam, including its restored left canal, which is maintained by Water Resources Department (WRD), in Gudiyatham town near Katpadi in Vellore.

Officials of WRD, which executed the restoration work, said the dam, which is built across the Koundinya river, a tributary of the Palar, has reached its full storage capacity of 261.3 mcft of water since the 2021 floods. This is the tenth time that the dam has reached its maximum capacity since it was built in 2001.

“Restoration of the left canal of the dam has helped to prevent water wastage through weeds, discharging free flow of water in the water channels for irrigation,” S. Kalipriyan, Assistant Engineer (AE), WRD (Gudiyatham), told The Hindu.

Accompanied by Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi and WRD officials, Mr. Duraimurugan inspected the canal, protection wall and bund area. “Water from two canals of the dam is a lifeline for irrigation and domestic consumption. Borewells are sunk along the dam area to irrigate farmlands. Restoration of the left canal will help to store excess rainwater during monsoon,” said K. Muthu, a farmer.

WRD officials said that the restored left canal runs 31.84 km, covering at least 19 villages with around 1,710.92 hectares of farmland. The left canal, which is three metres wide, covers a large tract of land under cultivation that resulted in silt deposition over the years.

While water from the Koundinya river directly irrigates around 140 acres, another 220 acres in the region are irrigated through water from the left canal alone. Under the Rehabilitation and Restoration of Lakes scheme 2024-25, silt on the canal bed was removed to a depth of three metres to ensure steady water flow. Growth of thick vegetation, especially on the bund and the slope of the bund, was also removed.

During the field study, WRD officials said they found breaches of the left canal in at least 10 spots on the bund, which is 5 metres in height. A protection wall, which is six feet in height, has been built to a distance of 500 metres at these spots to prevent any water seepage during monsoon.

M. Pavalakannan, Superintending Engineer (SE), WRD, R. Venkatesh, Executive Engineer (EE), WRD, P. Gopi, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), WRD, and S. Ramkumar, AE (WRD) were present on the occasion.