Madurai
Claiming that the Vaigai dam may have a silt deposit of up to 20 feet, reducing the original storage capacity by at least 15 %, an advocate moved the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday seeking a direction to the authorities to desilt the sand deposited in the Vaigai dam.
Advocate B. Stalin of Melur said that reservoir sedimentation was a severe problem faced due to soil erosion in the catchment areas of the reservoir. Virtually no work has taken off to desilt the Vaigai dam since its inception, he said.
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In 2016, there was a total estimation of around ₹ 180 crore to desilt the Vaigai dam and the same was revised to ₹ 220 crore in 2019. However, the study and ideas to desilt the Vaigai dam were still pending, the petitioner said.
Apart from desilting the Vaigai dam, the petitioner also sought a direction to the authorities concerned to fix a boundary to the water storage area, remove encroachments in the water storage area and prevent water theft in Moola Vaigai and Vaigai river.
A Division Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and S. Ananthi ordered notice to the State and sought response from the authorities.
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