The failure of the government and the public to protect water bodies was widely acknowledged as one of the major reasons for the deluge last year. In a bid to prevent such damage, the Water Resources Department has started work to demarcate the boundary of waterbodies in Tiruvallur along with the District Collectorate.
It may be recalled that Kosasthalaiyar river carried over 1.50 lakh cubic feet per second (cusecs) of floodwater during the torrential downpour last year. Several lakes were breached as they overflowed.
A team of Revenue Department officials have jointly started demarcating the boundary of Cholavaram lake in Alamathi village. Officials of the Water Resources Department said nearly 120 structures, including two-storied buildings, have encroached on the lake area.
Similarly, the lakes in Korattur and Ambattur also have a minimum of 200 encroached structures in areas such as Menambedu. The WRD plans to complete demarcating boundaries of the worst-affected lakes by October.
Strengthening bunds
The department also plans to strengthen the bunds of some of the tanks that were severely affected during the recent floods at a cost of Rs. 2 crore.
The tank in Sadayankuppam near Manali was heavily affected because of the volume of water in the Kosasthalaiyar.
Spread over 90 acres, this tank is located near the tail-end of the river just before it joins the sea. The tank bund was breached significantly then.
“Not much improvement work has been done on the tanks over the past six years other then checking illicit sand mining or minor repair works. These water bodies spread over a space of 100-150 acres are primarily sources of groundwater recharge and also cater to irrigation needs,” said an official.
A bund running up to a distance of two km will be strengthened in the tanks at Siruvakkam near Minjur, Kadapakkam near Manali, Arumandai and Ariyalur near Red Hills. The waterbodies in Boodur and Melsinglimedu, located four km away from Red Hills, are also at risk from real estate developers.
“We also plan to provide inlets into identified tanks to bring in floodwater. Several areas around the lakes were affected during floods as such inlets were blocked. We plan to finish strengthening the bunds in four months,” the official added.
