IIT-M team inspects damaged regulators across Kollidam

A two member team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), inspected the damaged regulators across the Kollidam river and the temporary restoration work carried out by the Public Works Department at Upper Anicut (Mukkombu) near here on Saturday.

The team, comprising Major General (retd) L. Padmanaban, CEO, Centre for Urbanisation, Buildings and Environment, IIT-M, and A. Boominathan, Professor, Civil Engineering, IIT-M, was apparently requested by the government to assess the stability of the temporary structure built across the damaged regulator and plan for the construction of the new barrage across the river.

Accompanied by senior PWD officials, they spent over an hour inspecting the temporary structure and the proposed site for the construction of the new barrage. Later, they held discussions with senior PWD officials including R.Senthil Kumar, Chief Engineer, PWD Water Resources Organisation, Tiruchi region, B. Ravichandran, Superintending Engineer, T.P.Ganesan, Executive Engineer, PWD River Conservation Division, and Usha Bai, Executive Engineer, Plan Formulation Division, PWD. The design of the new barrage was also discussed at length. The team has sought some additional details which would be sent to them, a PWD official said.

In a brief chat with reporters, Mr. Padmanaban commended the PWD for doing an “amazing job” in building the temporary bunds across the damaged portion using sand bags, boulders, wooden logs and steel rods.

Nine of the 45 shutters of the regulator across the Kollidam river collapsed on August 22. The PWD has since built a ring bund using sand bags and a groyne using stone boulders to block free flow of water through the damaged shutters and regulate release of water for irrigation in the delta. Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami, after an inspection, had announced that a new barrage would be built at Rs. 410 crore.

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