The Water Resources department launched a Light, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey on Tuesday as part of a proposal to construct a dam across the Kadamanthodu river, a tributary of the Kabani, at Pulpally in Wayanad, even as local residents and environmental organisations are putting up stiff resistance against the project.
The proposed project is aimed at addressing the drought-like situation in Pulpally and Mullankolly areas on the Kerala-Karnataka border during the summer. The LiDAR survey is a continuation of a survey conducted by the Geological Survey of India three months ago.
Details such as springs and creeks of the river and the terrain of the proposed dam site with respect to the mean sea level (MSL) will be marked. The volume capacity of the reservoir and an exact picture of the inundation area could be estimated after the survey, Water Resources department sources said. The number of buildings, their size, roads, and power lines in the project site would also be marked. A Delhi-based firm is carrying out the survey at a cost of ₹.32.8 lakh.
