WRD to examine options to preserve 743-year-old Kalingarayan aqueduct

Minister for Housing, Prohibition and Excise S. Muthusamy has asked the Water Resources Department (WRD) to study an alternative alignment for a new aqueduct so that the existing aqueduct of the Kalingarayan Canal is not demolished.

The aqueduct at the 13.7-mile mark of the canal, also known as Karai Vaikkal or Thotti Palam, is believed to be the State’s earliest aqueduct. It was constructed by Kongu chieftain Kalingarayan between 1270 and 1282 and is still in use. The aqueduct is part of the 91.10-km-long Kalingarayan Canal, which links the Bhavani River at Kalingarayanpalayam with the Noyyal River at Kodumudi.