CM Lays Foundation For New Reservoir At Kovalam
The surplus water from 69 lakes that drain into the sea would be impounded in the Mammalan reservoir that would provide 12 crore litres of water daily to the suburbs, besides storing surplus water to meet the water shortage in Chennai.
Stressing on the importance of water management, which was akin to financial management, Chief Minister M K Stalin said that governments run by the DMK since the time of M Karunanidhi had been taking a plethora of measures, including the construction of dams, to improve water resources in the State.
Speaking at the event to lay the foundation for the new Mammalan Reservoir to be constructed at a cost of Rs342.60 crore in Nemmeli in Chengalpattu district on Monday, Stalin said that a myth was being spread erroneously, either deliberately or out of ignorance that the DMK government did not build any dams when the fact was that 43 dams came up during the tenure of Karunanidhi across the State as part of the efforts to improve water resources.
Listing the names of those dams, the Chief Minister also mentioned the other efforts made by his government in the last five years towards improving water resources like the desilting carried out in the Cauvery basis at an expense of Rs 459 crore that saw the cleaning up of canals running to 24,833 km enabling the water reaching the tail end areas of the basin.
Mentioning the other projects, Stalin said that the Mammalan reservoir in the Kovalam sub-basin between Kelambakkam and Mamallapuram would be an addition to the water bodies like the Chembarambakkam lake, Puzhal lake, Sholavaram lake and Poondi reservoir in Chennai to supply water to over 13 lakh residents of Sholinganallur, Medavakkam, Pallikaranai, Siruseri, Kellambakkam, Thiruporur and Mamallapuram.
The surplus water from 69 lakes that drain into the sea would be impounded in the Mammalan reservoir that would provide 12 crore litres of water daily to the suburbs, besides storing surplus water to meet the water shortage in Chennai. The reservoir would be spread across an area of 5,161 acres between Thiruvidanthai and Koikalmedu with a 34 km long boundary and a capacity to hold 1.65 TMC feet water, he said.
Construction of the reservoir would improve the level and quality of the water table in the places around, like Thiruvidanthai, Kokilamedu, Mamallapuram, Thiruporur, Tandalam and Payyanur, and also contribute to the progress of the livelihood of fishermen depending on the backwater fishing operation in the Buckingham Canal, which is spread out in 311 acres, running to 15 km, he said, adding that the fishermen in the region would be given fishing rights.
For water management, the DMK government that the changed the face and landscape of Chennai in the last five years had taken several steps like preventing pollution, improving groundwater and desalination, besides recognizing those involved In water conservation through the presentation of awards, he said,
