7 months ago
2
The Tiruvannamalai Corporation has cleaned of 14 earthy streams, besides known arsenic ‘Odai’, successful Arunachala Hills adjacent Arunachaleeswara Temple successful Tiruvannamalai municipality to guarantee a creaseless travel of excess rainwater from the hills and to forestall inundation of the temple municipality during Northeast monsoon.
Corporation officials said that the earthy streams successful the hills are nether the power of the civic assemblage for galore years. These streams are cardinal to forestall waterlogging successful the municipality during monsoon. “Regular inspection of streams successful the hills is being done to place immoderate blockage that could forestall the escaped travel of rainwater downstream. New drains are besides being built to link the streams with adjacent irrigation tanks,” S. Ravi, Assistant Engineer (AE), Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu.
Along with Corporation officials, Collector K. Tharpagaraj inspected the foothills of Arunachala Hills connected Thursday to measure the information of the rocky terrain. He directed the civic officials to instrumentality precautionary measures to forestall onshore slips successful the hills. On December 1, 2024, 7 persons died aft dense rainfall triggered a landslide successful the hills.
Corporation officials said that each watercourse varies betwixt 1.2 km and 1.8 km successful magnitude from the hillock to the town. Each stream, connected an average, is 15 metres wide and 7 metres successful depth. In the downstream, particularly the municipality area, streams are connected to ample drains to discharge the excess rainwater into irrigation tanks, which are maintained by the Water Resources Department (WRD), earlier draining into Then Pennai river.
Most of the drains, that are connected to streams, person been desilted. These drains, connected an average, are 7 feet wide and successful depth. New drains are besides nether construction, especially on Sattanaickan Street and Pei Gopuram area, astatine a outgo of ₹2.8 crore nether the 15th Finance Commission strategy by the civic body. “Desilting of the Vengaikal irrigation vessel should beryllium done to forestall inundation of areas astir the Collectorate. Many streams from the hills travel into the vessel during monsoon,” said K. Sampath, a resident.
On its part, the Highways Department has constructed retaining walls astatine 2 identified spots successful the hills to forestall onshore slips during monsoon. Each partition is 20 metres agelong and 10 feet successful height. Open areas astatine the foothills are besides being levelled to alteration the escaped travel of rainwater from the hills.
Forest officials said that the Arunachala Hills travel nether the Adi Annamalai Reserve Forest, with implicit 900 hectares, spreading 9 km radius. The hill, located astatine 2,668 feet-high from the mean sea-level, is wherever a occurrence is lit atop the hillock arsenic portion of the Maha Deepam festival each year. The onshore astir the foothills, to a region of six kms, belongs to the Revenue Department portion the remaining country successful the hills are forests.
