Perumpallam Canal is an

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

in the city of

Erode Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the E ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. The canal traverses from west to east across the city and flows into

River Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

. It runs for a length of about . It gets the water from the sources of rain and seepage of

Lower Bhavani Project Canal Lower Bhavani Project Canal is a long irrigation canal which runs in Erode district in Tamil Nadu, India. The canal is a valley-side contour canal, fed by Bhavanisagar Dam and irrigates 2.07 lakh hectares of land.

near Kathirampatti in the western periphery of

Erode Municipal Corporation Erode Corporation is a civic administrative body that governs the City of Erode, India. The Corporation consists of a legislative body, headed by the City Mayor and an executive body headed by the Corporation Commissioner. The Corporation's head ...

. Running through the areas of Nanjanapuram,

Thindal Thindal is a neighborhood of Erode city in Tamil Nadu. It is located 8 km from Erode Junction and 7 km from Central Bus Terminus, Erode. It is now officially a part of Erode Municipal Corporation. The locality is well known for the ...

, Sengodampalayam,

Surampatti Surampatti is a neighbourhood locality in the City of Erode. As of 2011, the town had a population of 41,782. And presently, this has been converted as the Zonal Headquarters for one of the four zones of Erode Municipal Corporation, combining 1 ...

, Stoney Bridge, Marappalam and by flowing under the

Kalingarayan Canal Mamannar Kalingarayan Canal is a long irrigation canal in the Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. It was constructed by Chieftain Kalingarayan, Mamannar Kalingarayan Gounder and completed in 1283. The canal's source is the Kalingarayan Anicut da ...

, it pours into

near Vendipalayam Barrage.

Anicut

Dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

has been constructed over the canal in 1966 named Perumpallam Anicut, near

. In the downstream of this Anicut, the canal runs for a length of to join

river Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

. Also, a secondary canal branch off from this Anicut flowing towards

Nanjai Uthukuli Nanjai Uthukuli is a large village located in Erode district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics India census, Nanjai Uthukuli village had a population of 13,234. Males constitute a population 6568 and females 6666. Nanjai U ...

named as Nanjai Uthukuli Canal.

Environmental issues

With the development of city and rapid increase in population, this canal has been highly threatened by various environmental issues like

Pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, encroachments, sinking of drainage, deposition of solid wastes, etc,. The stretch of this canal between this

Anicut An anicut (Originated from Tamil language அணைக்கட்டு - Aṇaikaṭṭu and Kannada language ಆಣೆಕಟ್ಟು - Āṇekaṭṭu) is a masonry check dam A steel check dam A check dam is a small, sometimes temporary, ...

and Karaivaikkal is termed as

Cooum The Cooum river, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal. This river is about in length, flowing in the city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly polluted ...

due to the contamination of drainage and solid wastes into the canal. In 2003,

Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD Board) is a public agency formed by the Government of Tamil Nadu, under the Ministry of Local Administration and Water Supply, assigned with the task of implementing all water supply and sewerage ...

constructed a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to treat the contaminated water in this canal before it pours into

. The plant with a capacity to treat 20 million litres/day located in the southern periphery of

near Solar in

Lakkapuram Lakkapuram or Punjai Lakkapuram is a Village Panchayat located in Erode district, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Lakkapuram village falls under Modakurichi taluk. Demographics census, Lakkapuram village had a total population of 9,739 ...

panchayat. But this plant is now idle, because of the opposition from public. A group of social welfare organisations have joined hands and started cleaning up the canal in 2015. Around 570 unauthorised structures has been removed in 2016, to restore the original structure of the canal, which could enable agriculture cultivation in around 2000 acres of farms.

References

{{coord, 11.334568, 77.728779, display=title Erode district Canals in Tamil Nadu