Mettur Dam Water Level: Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010
TIRUCHI: The level in the Mettur dam stood at 76.70 feet on Monday against its full level of 120 feet. The inflow was 868 cusecs and the discharge, 2,000 cusecs.
Periyar Dam Water Level: Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010
MADURAI: The level in the Periyar dam on Saturday stood at 113.50 feet (full level 136 feet) with an inflow of 22 cusecs and a discharge of 400 cusecs.
The level in the Vaigai dam was 42.39 feet (71 feet) with no inflow and a discharge of 60 cusecs. The combined Periyar credit stood at 1,489 mcft.
Chennai: Check-dams to raise water supply
Groundwater will be recharged in areas near Araniar, Kosasthalaiyar
CHENNAI: The proposed check-dams across the Araniar and Kosasthalaiyar rivers in Tiruvallur district will help in augmenting water supply to Chennai. They will also help in recharging groundwater in the areas near the rivers, according to officials in the Water Resources Department (WRD).
Of the Rs.550 crore allocated towards artificial recharge in rivers and streams across the State, nearly Rs.48 crore would be utilised by the WRD, Chennai region, towards providing check-dams in the rivers to prevent runoff of rainwater into sea. The locations for establishing facilities were selected using remote sensing technique.
Officials of the WRD said the project would facilitate increase in the water table in six well fields used for city water supply. Work on constructing a check-dam at Paleswaram near Periapalayam across the Araniar river, at a cost of Rs.7.40 crore, would be completed next month.
Provision of three check-dams across the river has been recently approved at a total cost of Rs.12.90 crore. The facilities would come up in Kalpattu, Sengathakulam and Panapakkam, all near Uthukkotai. A check-dam worth Rs. 3.66 crore would be raised at Vannipakkam near Cholavaram on the Kosasthalaiyar river.
Work on these facilities is expected to commence in April. The project would be taken up in a phased manner. A check-dam at a cost of Rs.7.50 crore would be provided at A.Reddypalayam near Minjur next year where seawater intrusion is intense, an official said.
Provision of check-dams would help in replenishment of groundwater, which has dropped below 10 m in various locations in Tiruvallur district. “We are monitoring water level and quality by taking samples from wells within a few km radius before and after the project,” an official said. In Paleswaram, the water table is below 15 m now.
Chennai Metrowater officials, however, said it would take a longer duration for the benefits of check-dams to be realised in most of the well fields as they are located away from the Araniar river.
The average water level in the well fields is below 20 m. About 20 million litres a day are drawn from well fields at Tamaraipakkam, Poondi and Minjur for city supply.
The well field in Panchetti, where drawal was stopped several years ago, could be used again after the completion of the project. More check-dams must be provided in the Kosasthalaiyar river for better groundwater recharge in the well fields, they said. WRD officials said proposal would be chalked out to provide additional facilities in the Araniar-Kosasthalaiyar basin in the coming years.
Environmental impact
Global warming: Students of Amrita School of Business taking out a march to create awareness on carbon emissions as part of its annual B-Fest ‘Pragati 2010’ in Coimbatore on Sunday. — Photo: S. Siva Saravanan
Tambaram: Sanitation needs more attention
TAMBARAM: While massive projects to improve connectivity and basic infrastructure at a few hundred crores of rupees are currently on in different parts of the southern suburbs of Chennai, a key area that cries for attention is sanitation, particularly in backward pockets.
In disuse: The women and children sanitary complex in Madipakkam which functioned only for a few months since it was set up in 2002-03. —Photo: A.Muralitharan
An example is the condition of the Integrated Women and Children Sanitary complexes located in different places coming under the jurisdiction of panchayats and municipalities. One such complex in Madipakkam, for instance, highlights the need for the government agencies and elected representatives to do more to take proper care of a crucial amenity for the welfare of residents, especially the poor.
Constructed at a cost of about Rs. 2 lakh in 2002-2003 as part of a Statewide project to improve levels of hygiene and sanitation, to prevent open defecation and to empower women’s groups, the complex functioned only for a few months and has been in disuse since then.
The complex is located near the St. Thomas Mount Panchayat Union Middle School and behind the Village Panchayat Office.
A huge gaping hole in the rear side of the compound wall made it easy to enter the complex that now has become a meeting point for miscreants to consume liquor. Neither women’s groups nor the panchayat-level federation were willing to come forward and take responsibility for maintaining it. S. Harikrishnan, a resident of Sathsangam Street in Madipakkam and Joint Secretary of the South Chennai Unit of Democratic Youth Federation of India, said the status of the complex only reflected the amount of importance accorded to sanitation and hygiene by Madipakkam Village Panchayat and even the District Rural Development Agency.
Panchayat union staff said they were making an audit of such complexes and how many among them were functioning. They were hopeful of reviving these facilities that could significantly improve sanitation levels.
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