Work on construction of check dam across Palar river begins

Work on construction of a check dam across river Palar in neighbouring Kancheepuram district began with a formal 'bhoomi puja' on Monday.

The Department of Atomic Energy-funded check dam, a long pending proposal, estimated at about Rs 32.50 crore, aims to tackle seawater intrusion and augment supply for various drinking water schemes, an official release here said.

"The 1.190-kilometre long check dam would help retain the floodwater that would otherwise flow into the sea. This check dam will provide an additional storage capacity of up to 1,500 million cubic metres with two fillings, and nearly 330 hectares of agricultural land would benefit through this scheme," the release said.

The project is funded by DAE and executed through its General Services Organisation (GSO), Kalpakkam, and will be implemented by the state government's Water Resources Department (WRD), it said.

On completion of this check dam by March 2020, the water stored and recharged would be used for domestic and agricultural purposes in the surrounding areas.

The traditional 'bhumi puja' was performed to mark the commencement of the construction work at Vayalur village in the district.

State Ministers C Ve Shanmugam (Law and Prisons) and P Benjamin (Rural Industries), AK Bhaduri, Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and M Srinivas, Station Director, Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), Kalpakkam, among others were present during the occasion, it said.