TN officials inspect Upper Anaicut dam

Chennai : Tamil Nadu government officials on Thursday inspected the Upper Anaicut dam across the Coleroon river at Mukkombu near Tiruchirappalli and decided to put up a temporary structure after a portion of it was washed away.

Speaking to reporters at the site, officials said ways are being discussed to put up a temporary structure. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party and farmers blamed the indiscriminate sand mining in the river for the damage to the dam.

On Wednesday night eight shutters out of the 45 shutters of the dam were washed away resulting in heavy outflow of water. Some of the piers supporting the shutters also came down.

One more shutter was washed away on Thursday morning.

According to officials, there will not be any impact on the supply of water for agriculture.

Meanwhile, PMK leader and former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss blamed the state government for the lack of maintenance and indiscriminate sand mining in the Coleroon river which led to the weakening of the dam and the subsequent damage.

According to DMK leader M.K.Stalin, the damage to the dam shows the AIADMK government's carelessness in the maintenance of dams in the state.

He urged the government to carry out a survey on the safety of the dams in the state.

The Upper Anaicut, a small dam across the Coleroon, was built by Sir Arthur Cotton between 1836 and 1838.