Pudukkottai elated over whopping Rs 700 cr for Cauvery-Gundar link

A century-old dream project of the farmers belonging to these districts has become a reality after the announcement of the project and the allocation of Rs 700 crore in Phase I has elated the farmers.

According to the farmers from Pudukkottai, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had pointed out the Cauvery-Vaigai-Gundar project, at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore, that was listed in the Governor’s speech during the previous Assembly session and the Chief Minister now promised the farmers to release the Phase I fund in the State budget 2020-21.

As promised, the fund of Rs 700 crore was allotted in the budget and the district farmers and the AAIDMK cadre who gathered at several places in Pudukkottai and Karur districts and burst crackers and also distributed sweets among the public.

The Cauvery- Vaigai-Gundar link project envisages diversion of 2,252 million cubic metre of water, from Kattalai barrage at a location downstream of the existing Kattalai bed regulator across Cauvery River. The total length of Cauvery-Vaigai-Gundar link canal is 255.60 km. The link canal traverses through Karur, Tiruchy, Pudukkottai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar districts.

The link would pass through the river basins of Tirumanimuttar, Ponnanaiar (both sub-basins of Cauvery basin), area covered by the streams between Cauvery and Vaigai, Vaigai basin and area covered by the streams between Vaigai and Vaippar.

According to the official sources the link canal will provide irrigation to an area of 3.37 lakh ha in the districts of Karur, Tiruchchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi. Apart from irrigation, it is also proposed to provide domestic and industrial water requirements in the command area.