Sothuparai reservoir nearing completion

By T. Ramakrishnan

PERIYAKULAM, MARCH 25. The Sothuparai reservoir project in Theni district, a two-decade-old scheme, will be completed shortly.

``The deadline is April 20 but we are confident of completing the work by March 31'', say PWD officials at the dam site.

Originally proposed in the early 1980s, the scheme got embroiled in a number of problems and as a result, it came to a halt.

Now, thanks to the World Bank-assisted Water Resources Consolidation Project (WRCP), it has secured a fresh lease of life.

However, this has resulted in substantial cost escalation. When the Government sanctioned the project in 1982, the cost was Rs. 8.7 crores. In 1997, when it was revived, the cost went up to nearly Rs. 25 crores.

Located 12 km west of Periyakulam, the Sothuparai reservoir is so called because of the peculiar characteristics of boulders in the area. They are so evenly shaped that people have found it convenient to take food on them.

The source of this storage point is Varahanathi, a tributary of the Vaigai. Originating from the Palani Hills, Varahanathi traverses 28 km and confluences with the Vaigai three to four km downstream of the Vaigai dam.

A visit to the dam site reveals that the work on the last metre of the reservoir wall is going on feverishly and massive cranes are deployed for giving final touches to the dam. ``As per the prescriptions of the World Bank, we are carrying out all the measures aimed at protecting the structure of the dam and making it less vulnerable to tremors''.

Explaining the delay, the authorities say the nature of geological formation in the dam site was a major factor. ``Against the estimation of prevalence of hard rock boulders to the extent of 10 per cent, we found that it was actually 60 per cent''. The presence of more hard rock boulders led to the delay in excavation and the department terminated the contract, leading to litigation. All these and other problems were thrashed out after a considerable passage of time.

The reservoir, on completion, will stabilise farming activity on about 1,800 acres and lead to an additional command area of nearly 1,000 acres. A new lined canal for about 7 km is being laid. Apart from irrigation, the reservoir will be used for providing drinking water to Periyakulam and wayside habitations and it has been planned to draw 15 cusecs water for this purpose.

A cross-section of farmers, whose lands were acquired by the Government for constructing the reservoir, said the affected persons did not face problems in getting compensation. ``We are satisfied with the way the relief-distribution mechanism was carried out''. However, the ryots want the Government to implement a soft-loan scheme, aimed at employment generation, for their dependents.

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