Public moot for Pechiparai Royal visionary’s memorial in Kanniyakumari
The dam has fulfilled the agriculture and drinking water requirements of Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts all these decades.
Members of farmers’ associations and Hindu outfits paying floral tribute to the portrait of Travancore Maharaja Sri Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma at Pechiparai Reservoir
TIRUCHY: Farmers and members from various Hindu outfits appealed to the state government to construct a mani mandapam for Maharaja of Travancore Sri Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma who constructed the Pechiparai reservoir, the largest dam in Kanniyakumari district that plays as a vital source for drinking and irrigation purpose for the people of the district as well as the adjacent Tirunelveli.
Located around 43 km away from Nagercoil, the district headquarters of Kanniyakumari district, the dam was constructed across Kothaiyaru in the foothills of the Western Ghats during the period between 1897 and 1906 by the English Engineer Alexander Minchin as per the request of the then Maharaja of Travancore dynasty, Sri Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma.
The dam has fulfilled the agriculture and drinking water requirements of Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts all these decades.
The depth of the dam was originally 42 feet and in 1969, it was renovated by the then Chief Minister Kamaraj and was increased to 48 feet. Since then, its role in irrigating both districts has considerably increased.
A parched Radhapuram taluk in Tirunelveli, which doesn’t have any river of its own, depends on this dam for irrigation purposes.
The then Chief Minister Kamaraj established Pattana Canal in Radhapuram for the benefit of the farmers from the region.
Through this canal, around 15,500 acres of land in Radhapuram taluk of Tirunelveli district is directly benefited and around 1,000 acres of land indirectly benefited through 52 irrigation tanks.
As per the turn system of irrigation, every year, on July 1, water is released to the Perunchani Reservoir for irrigation purposes and on July 16, water is released to the Radhapuram canal for irrigation needs.
Recently, the members from farmers' associations and Hindu outfits celebrated the 167th Jayanthi for the Maharaja Sri Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma at the dam premises.
They gave floral tribute to the portrait of the Maharaja. They also paid their respects to the dam, performed arathi to the reservoir and conducted a conference about the good deeds of the Maharaja including the construction of the Pechiparai dam. They also demanded the state government to establish a manimandapam to the Maharaja at the dam premises.