HC seeks report from State on plea to desilt Vaigai dam

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the State to file a report on a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to the authorities to desilt the Vaigai dam for improving its storage capacity.

A Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and M. Jothiraman were hearing the petition filed by K. K. Ramesh of Madurai. He said the dam was the main source of water for Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts.

The dam was not properly maintained. Mud and sludge were not removed and the storage capacity had reduced. Farmers had urged the government to desilt the dam so that water would be conserved and utilised effectively for both drinking and irrigation, he said.