Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said the Cauvery-Godhavari rivers will be linked soon at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore. He made the statement after laying the foundation stone for the Sarabanga lift irrigation project in Salem.
Palaniswami said that the water from the interlinking project would be used for irrigation by the farmers. He further said that the Sarabanga project would be completed in 11 months. The project which is inaugurated at a cost of Rs 565 crore aims to divert surplus floodwater from Mettur Dam to the Sarabanga River in Salem, through lift irrigation.
A press release said over 100 tanks in Edappadi, Nangavalli, Vanavasi and Mecheri would benefit thanks to the scheme. The project was announced by Palaniswami in the Assembly on 15 July 2019. The release added that Rs 3,503 lakh will be spent on acquiring land through private negotiations, under the 2013 legislation.
‘The main offtake for the scheme is proposed on the left flank of Mettur reservoir, up to a length of 100 metre. The water pumped in main pumping station located in Thippampatti village hamlet of Gonur village will be taken to two tank groups by two outlets Mecheri Tank Group which starts from Kalipatti Tank and Nangavalli Tank Group which starts from Nangavalli Tank,’ the release added. It further said about 214 cusesc of water is proposed to be pumped for 30 days.
‘Several requests were received to divert surplus water from Mettur to the lakes in dry regions such as Nangavalli, Vanavasi, Edappadi and Mecheri. Since these regions are above the Mettur dam level it was difficult to supply water by creating channels. Hence motors will be used to transfer water. By supplying water to these 100 lakes around 4,238 acre lands will get irrigation facilities,’ the release added. Palaniswami was slated to lay the foundation stone for a new government medical college which will come up at the Polupalli in Krishnagiri later today.