A Short Note on Features of River Vaigai

Madurai is an ancient Tamil city located on the banks of Vaigai. The Vaigai river originates in the Varusanadu Hills of Tamil Nadu. It flows north-east through the Kambam and Varushanad valleys. It flows eastward into the Vaigai reservoir at Narasingapuram. It further passes through Madurai and turns to Palk Strait. Its main tributaries are Thamirabarani, Amaravathi and Cauvery. The Vaigai River drains southeastern India, flowing for approximately 150 miles.

History

Sangam literature, written circa 300 B.C., pays many tributes to the river Vaigai. The tributary is praised as ‘the river that brings water when you touch it’, a trait ascribed to the etymology of the name, Vai (place your) + gai (hands).

The following story is told about the river’s birth: Meenakshi, the daughter of a Pandyan king, was an incarnation of Parvati. She decided to marry Lord Shiva and none else from a very young age. Initially, her family was against this but eventually consented to her wish and arranged the wedding. A huge wedding feast was prepared when Meenakshi married Shiva, the Lord of the mountains. Gundotharan, one of the demons who opposed this marriage and was defeated by Shiva in a battle, arrived at the feast disguised as a Brahmin priest. He ate up all the food and still was not satisfied. The Lord commanded Annapoorani, Goddess of food and drink, to supply Gundotharan with food. She made four giant pits of cooked rice appear. But even after eating this much food, Gundotharan remained thirsty. The Ganges asked for a boon of Lord Vishnu. “Grant that anyone who bathes in the river will be absolved of his sins,” the river said. The Lord assented, and the Ganges became the Vaigai River.

Vaigai River

• The Vaigai, also known as the Tamiraparani (Tamil: தமராப்பரணி; Sanskrit: तामर गण्ड), is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of India, flowing through Nanguneri Taluk of Tirunelveli District and Madurai District.
• It rises in the Varusanadu Hills of western Tamil Nadu. It is a major tributary of the Tamiraparani River, and is located in southern India. It flows eastward to Kumbakonam, a town in Tamil Nadu state. It passes through Tamil Nadu before reaching the Bay of Bengal.
• The Vaigai river basin is one of the seventeen river basins in Tamil Nadu. The main river originating from Varusanadu valley forms a well-defined, compact drainage basin with its tributaries.
• The region is drought-prone with unreliable rainfall. It is also vulnerable to sudden floods caused by heavy rainfall in catchment areas of these rivers. To better manage water resources in this basin, the government has initiated several projects to provide water through these rivers.
• This includes constructing several check dams and minor irrigation schemes that have reduced drought conditions in this area and increased groundwater table levels.

Vaigai Dam

• The Vaigai Dam, built across the Vaigai River in Virudhunagar District in Tamil Nadu, India, is a multi-purpose dam that provides irrigation and drinking water to numerous towns and villages.
• The dam stands at 111 feet (34 m) and is considered an essential part of the Madurai district’s water supply system and a crucial component of the North Tamil Nadu Irrigation Project. It has a gross storage capacity of 6.14 million cubic metres. On January 21, 1959, it was inaugurated by then Chief Minister K. Kamaraj.
• The Vaigai Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam built across the Vaigai River in southern Tamil Nadu, India. It was built by the public works department of Madras Presidency for ₹10 lakh (US$1 million). The dam has a storage capacity of 6143 million cubic feet (190 × 10 ^ 6 m³).

Additional Features

• The Vaigai River is a 150-mile (240 km) river located in Tamil Nadu, southern India. It was built to meet the drinking water needs of Madurai and its surrounding areas.
• The Vaigai Dam stores around 6143 MCFT water and generates electricity with a capacity of 2.0 MW. The meteorological station at Avaniyapuram at the foothill of Western Ghats is located in the south-western part of the district near the dam, at an excellent location for studying climatological conditions.
• The elevation of the station is 315 m. The Vegas River Basin Study Area (VRA) is spread over 1330 km2 in five taluks, Madurai North, Madurai South, Bodinayakkanur, Periyakulam and Paramakudi in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu State, India.

Conclusion 

Although the Vaigai has no large dams with significant storage capacity within its catchment, it receives water from a number of tributaries flowing from both the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. Its tributaries include the Okaram, Kallar, Bhavani, and the Amaravathi. It joins the Tamiraparani River near Attur and forms the Thirumalairajan River. This river is 398 km in length. In earlier times, it used to reach the Bay of Bengal at Kaveripoompattinam, but now it does not have any delta.