INSPECTION: Transport Minister K.N. Nehru (right) and PWD Minister Durai Murugan near the site where the new Kattalai barrage will come up across the Cauvery at Mayanur in Karur district. The stage has been set for laying the foundation for Rs.700-crore worth of projects that will be executed by the Public Works Department in the Tiruchi Circle. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi will launch the works in Tiruchi on June 24. The projects include construction of a new barrage across the Cauvery at Kattalai, near Mayanur in Karur district, permanent flood protection schemes for Karur, Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts, renovation of the Grand Anicut Canal in Orathanadu and Pattukottai areas of Thanjavur and desilting works in Nagapattinam district, PWD Minister Durai Murugan said on Thursday. In what is billed as the first phase of interlinking of intra-State rivers, a Rs.165-crore road-cum-barrage will come up just 250 metres downstream the Kattalai Bed Regulator at Mayanur in Karur district. The Kattalai High Level Channel, the New Kattalai High Level Channel, the South Bank Canal/Uyyakondan, all on the left bank of the Cauvery, and the North Bank Canal on the right bank will benefit from the new barrage, Mr. Durai Murugan told reporters at Mayanur after inspecting the site of the barrage. The aim, he said, was to improve irrigation management in the four channels, create storage of around 1.04 tmcft in the barrage area, harness 5.4 tmcft of excess water when the river is in spate, raise the groundwater level and improve tourism potential. The barrage would also help to irrigate more than 90,000 acres served by the channels. For this year, the government sanctioned Rs.50 crore for the barrage construction. While its total length would be 1,233.20 metres, the road over the barrage would have a width of 12 metre to facilitate two-lane traffic between Mayanur in Karur district with Seerpillaiyarpudur in Tiruchi district, he said. Mr. Durai Murugan sought to allay fears of the delta farmers, saying the Kattalai barrage would, in no way, affect their irrigation rights and availability of water. Transport Minister K.N. Nehru, Karur MP K.C. Palanisamy, MLAs P. Kamaraj, Anbil Periyasamy and K.N. Sekaran and PWD officials accompanied Mr. Durai Murugan.