Vellore Collector P.S. Leena Alex during the release of water from Mordhana Dam near Gudiyatham town in Vellore.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Water Resources Department (WRD) has said that the left and right main canals of Mordhana Dam have been desilted before the release of water from the facility for nine days, up to September 1, for irrigation.
The reaction of WRD officials came after Vellore MP D.M. Kathir Anand claimed, in a press release, that the canals and feeder channels were not desilted completely before the scheduled release of water from the dam. The release of water, he claimed, could affect water flow especially in tail end areas for irrigation.
“A 20-member team completed periodical maintenance of the dam before water was released for irrigation. Based on requests from farmers, water has been released to fill tanks downstream,” S. Kalipriyan, Assistant Engineer (AE), WRD (Gudiyatham), told The Hindu.
Along with WRD officials, Collector P.S. Leena Alex released water from the dam to help recharge ground water in areas at least 10 km downstream. Every day, on an average, 225 cusecs of water from the left and right canals of the dam will be released. In other words, 174.96 mcft of water will be released during this period. “Water from the dam will help cultivate paddy, groundnuts, and banana along the river as most of the water bodies have become dry. Most farmers in the region depend on borewells for irrigation,” said T. Pasupathi, a farmer.
At present, the dam has 235.03 mcft of water as against its total storage capacity of 261.3 mcft of water. The water from the reservoir, which is built across the Koundinya River, a tributary of the Palar, will benefit nine tanks in Gudiyatham and Katpadi taluks.
These tanks enable farming activities on around 2,500 acres and also help recharge ground water in their vicinity. While water from the Koundinya River directly irrigates around 140 acres, another 220 acres are irrigated through water from the canals. The left canal supports irrigation activities in the ayacut areas attached to seven tanks.
WRD officials said that the left canal was restored in July 2025 under the Rehabilitation and Restoration of Lakes scheme 2024-25. Deposited 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 its slope was also removed, officials said.
The left canal runs for a distance of 31.84 km, covering 19 villages with 1,710.92 hectares of farmland. With a width of three metres, it covers a large tract of land under cultivation that resulted in silt deposition over the years.
Published – August 25, 2026 10:15 pm IST
