Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 1 hr ago
Vellore starts clearing invasive plants from irrigation tanks before monsoon
Vellore’s Water Resources Department and Exnora International are clearing invasive plants from irrigation tanks along the Palar River in Tamil Nadu.
The work began ahead of the Northeast monsoon so the tanks can store excess rainwater from upstream reservoirs.
Six tanks have been cleared, and about 20 have been identified for the initiative.
The district’s 101 irrigation tanks are affected by thick vegetation, including seemai karuvelam, an invasive tree.
Clearing the plants is intended to help tanks hold rainwater, which can support groundwater and farming in the area.
The work covers about 200 hectares so far, and removal is estimated to cost around ₹6 lakh per tank.
Officials plan to clear most tanks in phases, while special Water Resources Department teams monitor the work.
The removed plants are sent to paper-making and wood-brick units, and regrowth is expected to take about two years.
The Water Resources Department and Exnora International have begun removing invasive plants from irrigation tanks along the Palar River in Vellore before the Northeast monsoon.
The work is intended to help tanks store excess rainwater from upstream reservoirs.
Removal has been completed in six tanks, and around 200 hectares have been covered.
Around 20 irrigation tanks have been identified for the work, which officials say will be carried out in phases.
The initiative followed farmers’ requests to the district administration to remove the plants.
- Who
- The Water Resources Department and Exnora International are carrying out the work.
- What
- They are removing invasive seemai karuvelam plants from irrigation tanks.
- When
- Ahead of the Northeast monsoon. The source gives no specific start date.
- Where
- Irrigation tanks along the Palar River in Vellore district, Tamil Nadu.
- Why
- To help tanks store excess rainwater from upstream reservoirs and support groundwater and farming.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Farmers in the region requested that the district administration remove invasive plants.
The Water Resources Department and Exnora International began removing plants from dry irrigation tanks.
Removal had been completed in six tanks, and around 200 hectares had been covered.
- Tanks identified
- Around 20
- Tanks cleared
- Six, including Thorapadi, Agaramcheri, Kolamangalam and Melmanavur
- Land covered
- Around 200 hectares
- Estimated cost
- Around ₹6 lakh per tank
- Plants removed per acre
- An average of around 15 tonnes
What people are saying
Removal of invasive plants in waterbodies, especially lakes will help increase groundwater in the area. It will also help increase the total farming area in the region.
The removal of invasive plants in the tanks is being done on a war footing before the advent of monsoon rain. Most of the irrigation tanks in the district will be covered in phases.
Sources
Related news
High-speed video shows how detached honeybee stingers keep pumping venom
China’s CXMT plans next-generation server memory, raising competition concerns
Trump revives effort to halt Ørsted offshore wind farm construction
Egyptian fossils identified as a new 45-million-year-old crocodile species
Pacific buoy recorded a 17.6-metre rogue wave nearly three times its neighbours
A 1960 population model set a ‘doomsday’ date that later growth disproved
Satellite Data Reveal Opposing Changes Beneath Nicaragua’s Masaya Volcano
Red dwarf slowly draws matter from a brown dwarf
Ancient sea levels show Earth's poles shifted during the dinosaur age
Researchers trace the unusual shape of rose petals to geometry
Jonathan the tortoise’s gene switches may offer clues to long life
