Traditional water system in and around Tiruvannamalai hill needs to be preserved to ensure water security in the district, says V.R.Visweswaran, water resource expert.
Mr. Visweswaran is a hydro geologist retired from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). He had worked with several international agencies as water resource specialist. He conducted a study on Tiruvannamalai temple tanks in as late as 1997.
He recently visited Tiruvannamalai to assess the kind of impact the Girivalam path widening project may have on the water systems here. In an interview to The Hindu after his visit, Mr. Visweswaran said Tiruvannamalai hill has a structural feature of fissures and joints in archean rock formation that allows natural recharge and flow of rain water. The rain water flows into streams on all sides of pyramidal slopes of the hill and fills innumerable tanks, ponds, theerthams around the hill. The water ultimately reaches irrigation tanks in the plains and benefits farmers while recharging water table en route.
The rulers of the past provided storage structures for the waters flowing from the hills with tremendous knowledge on hydraulic structure of the hill. These hydraulic structures and courses of flow shall not be disturbed or altered now. Altering the water course will affect recharge of ground water and water available for irrigation. “Tiruvannamalai is a region that survives with low rainfall and every drop of water is important here. Hence preserving water harvesting structures constructed brilliantly centuries ago is important,” he said.
Any road project should be executed after studying hydraulic structure of the area, water flows. Utmost care should be taken to not to divert, destroy water courses. Raising road levels indiscriminately would affect water flows, he said. When asked about the plans of the highways department to dig new drainage, he said “any new channel, drainage and diversion of original courses without a scientific approach will result in water flowing into wrong areas which have no fissures for water to percolate.”
