Farmers demand steps to rejuvenate Kalingarayan Canal

The 740-year-old Kalingarayan Canal that helps irrigate 15,745 acre in the district is in a pathetic state due to dumping of waste, and farmers have demanded steps to rejuvenate the water body.

Kalingarayan anicut system, which comprises an anicut at Kalingarayanpalayam in Bhavani across Bhavani River, and the canal that runs for 90.50 km was constructed by Kongu chieftain Kalingarayan between 1271 and 1283. It is one of the oldest river linking projects as it links River Bhavani with River Noyyal. Except for 45 days, the canal carries water throughout the year and helps in irrigation of crops such as banana, turmeric, paddy, sugarcane and others in the taluks of Erode, Modakkurichi and Kodumudi.

The anicut was recently chosen for the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage award of World Heritage Irrigation Structures (WHIS) for 2021, while a technical team from the Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, is expected to assess the historical, archaeological and architectural values of the canal to declare it as centrally protected monument.

The discharge of effluents from textile processing and tannery units in the Corporation limits had caused extensive damage to the canal in the recent past, which was reduced after a baby canal was constructed to carry sewage. “However, dumping of plastic and poultry waste, stale food and discharge of sewage from households continues,” said Raja alias Krishnan, a farmer from Vairapalayam and member of Kalingarayan Pasana Sabai, B.P. Agraharam. He said that even canal beds were not spared as debris, sludge and other wastes were being dumped there.

Farmers said that seepage from the baby canal also polluted the canal water and aquatic weeds spread faster as water flows for ten-and-a-half months a year. “No action has been taken against the polluters,” said Murugesan, a farmer from Lakkapuram. The canal passes through the city where residential areas are located in large numbers and people pack waste materials in plastic bags and throw it directly into the canal, he added. Sewage from households directly enters the canal in the city limits and the Corporation should takes steps stop it, said Muthusamy, a farmer from Kodumudi.