Clay soil from Keezhamathur tank near here has been found to be most suitable to be used for flooring in the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple tank where a Rs. 50 lakh project is underway to ensure permanent water storage.
A report from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Madras, which had submitted a detailed proposal on executing this project upon the request of the temple authorities, suggested the clay soil from this location.
Temple officials told The Hindu that the clay soil samples were taken from ten locations in Usilampatti, Chekkanoorani, Thirumangalam and Keezhamathur. Besides IIT-Madras, samples were also sent to Thiagarajar College of Engineering, which too offered a concurring opinion.
Work on the Golden Lotus Tank began in November 2011 and at present, the tank’s earlier flooring of one foot of concrete and a half-a-foot of stone, which the IIT team concluded were allowing seepage of water, has been completely removed.
Once the permission was obtained from the district administration, whose consent was necessary as the soil was being taken from a tank belonging to the State Government, the clay would be used to completely level the tank floor and make its bottom uniform, officials added.
After this, upon the suggestion of the IIT-Madras team, a six-millimetre layer of synthetic membrane would be installed to ensure water did not seep through the floor. On top of this membrane, two feet of clay would be laid.
Progress reviewed
Further, to prevent seepage through the sides, a five-foot high wall made of cement concrete bricks would be constructed one metre inside the tank.
Ravindra Gettu, a Professor in Department of Civil Engineering in IIT-Madras, inspected the works at the tank recently and reviewed the progress so far.
Work on construction of the wall has already commenced. Temple officials said that all the works was expected to be completed before August 15.
