Thoothukudi MP flags off ₹53-crore Buckle Canal expansion project

Thoothukudi Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi on Saturday laid the foundation for widening of Buckle Canal, one of the primary stormwater drains in the district. She also inaugurated other completed projects .

The widening work of the canal is being undertaken at an estimated cost of ₹53 crore.

The seven-km canal, constructed during the colonial period, serves as the major stormwater drainage canal for managing floodwaters during the monsoon. It originates near Food Corporation of India’s godown and drains into the Bay of Bengal at Therespuram.

The 2023 floods in Thoothukudi exposed the functional constraints of the canal, largely due to manmade reasons such as sewage intrusions and wastes clogging the waterbody. Thoothukudi Corporation has been taking various measures, including desilting of the canal, preventing waste dumping and suspending illegal sewage connections to ensure free flow of water.

In line with these measures, the Corporation has initiated the canal widening project to enhance its carrying capacity.

A Corporation official said the canal had a width of seven metres, which would be widened by an additional five metres along its entire stretch. The canal’s floodwater carrying capacity, which was around 29 cusecs now, would increase to nearly 50 cusecs after the widening.

The MP also inaugurated various other projects including a toilet complex built at a cost of ₹94.57 lakh at Sivanthakulam Corporation School under the Corporate Social Responsibility fund of NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited.

Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Minister P. Geetha Jeevan, Collector K. Elambahavath, Mayor Jegan Periyasamy, Corporation Commissioner S. Priyanka and other officials were present.