Water release in the Kalingarayan Canal halted development works in Erode in Tamil Nadu on July 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Govarthan M.
Development works on the Kalingarayan Canal have been suspended temporarily following the release of water from the Bhavanisagar Dam for 15 days to provide special irrigation to standing crops in the ayacut.
The 91-km-long canal irrigates 15,743 acres in the district. The Water Resources Department (WRD) has undertaken improvement works between mile 12/3/348 and mile 15/4.5/195. The work includes construction of retaining walls along both banks for 4.65 km, formation of a 4.22-km baby canal, reconstruction of 67 sluices, two bridges, construction of two underpasses, renewal of an outlet shutter, construction of ‘C’-type staff quarters, and installation of 0.70 km of chain-link fencing.
The works commenced on April 11 and were scheduled to be completed before the customary release of water on June 16. However, the release was deferred to June 28 as the works were in progress. Subsequently, water could not be released because of poor storage in the Bhavanisagar Dam. Following representations from farmers, the government ordered a special water release from July 14 to July 28 to protect standing crops.
A WRD engineer told The Hindu that around 65% of the works had been completed, while the construction of the baby canal had not yet commenced. The works have been halted owing to the water release and will resume only after the discharge is stopped. “A decision on resuming the works can be taken only in the last week of July,” the engineer said.
Meanwhile, Kalingarayan ayacut farmers have petitioned the district administration seeking continuation of the water release, pointing out that the storage in the Bhavanisagar Dam is nearing 60 feet.
At 12 p.m. on Saturday (July 18, 2026), the water level in the Bhavanisagar Dam stood at 59.15 ft against its full reservoir level of 105 ft. The storage was 6.98 tmc ft, as against the full capacity of 32.8 tmc ft. The inflow into the reservoir was 318 cusecs, while the total outflow was 1,255 cusecs.
Published – July 18, 2026 02:59 pm IST
