Thanneermukkom barrage opens on April 10

Alappuzha: The district administration has decided to open the Thanneermukkom barrage on April 10 which was shut for the three-and-a-half month paddy harvesting season that started from December.

PS Ganesh, Executive Engineer, Irrigation department, said that all shutters would be opened within two days. The decision was taken after harvesting of  20,000 hectares of paddy fields out of 26,500 was completed.  The harvesting of the rest will not be affected by brackish water.

Last month, fishermen in Thanneermukkom had demanded the opening of the barrage. They demanded that the James committee report of 1992 suggesting that the Bund should be opened before March 15 should be implemented.

“The river was getting polluted due to the water level coming down and the lack of low and high tides. The depleting water level became a threat to fish breeding’, fishermen said.

The Thanneermukkom barrage, built in 1975 on the narrowest part of the lake’s width, closes its gates each year from December 15 to March 31.