Four reservoirs in the Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu were opened for irrigation of 32,024.58 acres of agricultural land. During the pisanam paddy cultivation season, Chief Minister M K Stalin gave sluice directions to benefit 27,293.75 acres in Tenkasi district and 4,730.82 acres in Tirunelveli district on Tuesday.
The Ramanathi, Karupanadhi, Gadana, and Adavinainar Kovil dams will discharge water for 148 days until March 30, next year. Water will fill 171 tanks in Tenkasi district and 59 tanks in Tirunelveli district.
The Gadana dam, which stands 85 feet tall and holds 83 feet of water on Tuesday, will irrigate 9,923 acres. There is also irrigation in the Tenkasi, Ambassamudram, and Cheranmahadevi blocks, totaling 3,987 acres and indirectly 5,935 acres. A total of 1,653.87 MCFT will be discharged from the dam at 125 cusecs during the next 21 weeks.
The Karupanadhi dam, which is also nearly full with 69.56 feet of water versus its full capacity of 72.1 feet, will irrigate 9,514.7 acres till March 30 by releasing 1,189.34 MCFT at 25 cusecs.
The Adavinainar Kovil dam, which held 127.25 feet of water on Wednesday, will discharge 955.39 MCFT in 148 days at the rate of no more than 100 cusecs. The reservoir will benefit 2,147 acres directly and 5,496 acres indirectly through 43 tanks in the Tenkasi, Sengottai, Kadayanallur, and Veerakeralampudur blocks.
The Ramanathi dam, which has 79 feet of water against a full reservoir capacity of 84 feet, will cover 4,934 acres and have a capacity of 824 MCFT and 60 cusecs. Because of the 33 tanks, this dam would benefit 1,527 acres directly and 3,416 acres indirectly.
What exactly is the function of a water reservoir?
A reservoir is a man-made lake formed by the construction of a dam in a river valley. The most important function of reservoirs is flood risk management. Reservoirs gather water during periods of heavy rainfall, minimizing flood risk, and then slowly release the water over the next few weeks and months.
