After failing to meet deadlines, work on completing the ambitious project to create the city’s fifth reservoir in Thervoy Kandigai- Kannankottai, Tiruvallur district, located 60 km from Chennai, has resumed this month.
The long-pending acquisition about 400 acre of land in Kannankottai was resolved recently. Process to disburse compensation to 270 landowners as per the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, is on. About ₹160 crore has been allotted for land acquisition and compensation, officials said.
Stiff opposition from farmers in Kannankottai and disbursement of compensation according to the new Act had stalled the project for nearly two years.
Now that the legal battle is over, the government is confident of completing the work on the reservoir which is being formed by combining two lakes in Thervoy Kandigai and Kannakottai villages to store water for Chennai’s drinking water needs.
“We will be able to finish the project in six months. The waterbody will be ready to supply to Chennai by the northeast monsoon next year,” said an official of the Water Resources Department. While most of the work related to the creation of the bund has been completed, the project was put on hold due to obstacles in creating the bund for a distance of two km in locations falling under Kannankottai village.
Forming the bund in Kannankottai was one of the last steps to create the reservoir. The bund runs for a total distance of 7.5 km, officials said. Three sluice gates and a surplus weir, a structure that will allow excess water to flow out when the storage reaches full tank level, will also be built in Kannankottai.
Interceptor canal
Moreover, the project to form a canal to intercept Kandaleru Poondi canal and bring water to the new reservoir is also nearing completion.
Of the 8.6 km-long canal, work is being carried out in the remaining portion of two km and will be over by January next year. The water body will also get inflow from neighbouring lakes such as Rajan eri and Karadiputhur eri. The new reservoir will store 1,000 million cubic feet of water when filled twice. Work is also on to build an intake tower and lay a 66-km pipeline to transport water to the Poondi reservoir.