The Water Resources Department (WRD) will on Saturday install emergency shutters at the Poondi reservoir. This will enable the department to carry out repair works on the floodgates and address complaints of leakage from the waterbody.
Officials of the WRD said the two adjustable floodgates would be 15 feet high and 20 feet wide. Though the leakage from floodgates was minimal, it was imperative to repair the damage as the reservoir is the prime storage point for Chennai's drinking water supply. At present, Poondi reservoir has storage of 3,048 million cubic feet against its capacity of 3,231 mcft.
There are 14 shutters in the reservoir. No major improvement work has been taken up in the reservoir for over a decade.
During the two months project period, traffic diversion would be necessitated in the area. Vehicles and Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses plying to different villages via the Sathyamurthy Sagar dam would not be allowed. The buses are operated to various villages, including Ramancheri, Kunipalayam, Ariyapakkam, Krishnapuram and Ariyathur, from Poondi and Tiruvallur.
Officials said they have suggested two alternative routes until the project is completed.
Residents would have to travel an additional 15 km via Uthukottai Road from Seethancheri to reach Poondi. Another route suggested was through Tirutani Road and Ramancheri.
The project worth Rs.2 crore would be completed by March-end. Once the work is completed, maintenance of the shutters would be taken up in a few months, the officials added.
A press release from the Tiruvallur Collectorate said residents would not be allowed near the dam for safety reasons till the work is finished.
