At a time when the city is facing one of its worst water crises, dry temple tanks should not raise eyebrows. From this logic, it follows that eyebrows should go up when a temple tank with a remarkable amount of water comes into view.
At the six-acre Kapaleeshwarar temple tank, three borewells were revived recently and two new ones have been dug to keep the temple tank brimming with water.
Similarly, at Chitrakulam, a tank attached to the Kesava Perumal temple in Mylapore, two new borewells were dug recently. At Marundeeswarar temple in Thiruvanmiyur, borewells have been dug in one of the two tanks.
ADVERTISEMENT
On the surface, these initiatives look laudatory. But, activists, including those working in the area of water conservation, and some residents of these localities have sounded a warning bell.
Water conservation experts have asked temple authorities to de-silt the tanks before monsoon sets, and desist from efforts to fill up tanks. They argue that this is unnecessary as the float festival is due only in February.
“When the groundwater table goes up, the tank will fill up automatically. What is the need to have water in tanks when most people don’t even have access to drinking water? Most temple tanks are located in densely-populated areas and the entire neighbourhood will lose water if this happens,” said Sekhar Raghavan, director of Rain Centre.
ADVERTISEMENT
Temple tanks are an essential part of the ecosystem as they serve as recharge ponds for the underground water table and cannot be filled when water levels in reservoirs are 80% less than normal, say experts.
At Marundeeswarar temple in Thiruvanmiyur, borewells have been dug in one of the two tanks.
“Previously, around 3 lakh litres of water was supplied to the Kapaleeshwarar tank by Metrowater officials. If the temple authorities want to save the fish and ducks in the tank, they can transport them elsewhere rather than follow a system that will only end up depleting the groundwater table,” he said.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR &CE) officials of the Kapaleeshwarar temple claim to have dug only 15 feet into the ground to pump out small amounts of water.
“The borewells are not turned on round-the-clock. The water we pump out goes back into the soil and collects in the groundwater table again. We don’t collect this water and use it for commercial purposes. Also, when it rained recently, the tank’s water level had gone up just enough to sustain the fish and the ducks in the tank. Also, as we don’t dig too deep, there is no possibility of the area losing its water. This is a routine practice in most temples and authorities of the geology department have given their approval too,” said Kaveri, a HR&CE official of the temple.
Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of the Arappor Iyakkam, says all temples should use the time just before a monsoon to desilt their respective tanks to enable better percolation of rainwater.
“In most tanks, there is a thick layer of slit, garbage and other obstructions which will cause the water to overflow instead of replenishing the water table. We plan on talking to the temple officials to carry out desilting work as soon as possible,” he said.
Also, due to high temperatures, the water in the tanks will easily evaporate; so, either way, we will be losing water, he added.
There is a good amount of water in the tank at Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane. But, this is the result of the recent rain and the rainwater being collected through a stormwater drain system that has been put firmly in place.
Water collected from 10 streets around Triplicane gets deposited directly in the tank, says Ramani T G, member of SYMA. “The tank’s surface, which is made of 60 percent concrete slabs and 40 percent sand, recharges the groundwater table and gets filled up after the wells are full. Hence, digging borewells or hiring water tankers to fill up the temple tank is a needless exercise,” he added.