The consistent rainfall this season has helped most of the tanks in the districts surrounding Chennai fill up. In Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu, nearly 874 tanks have reached their maximum capacity.
Both districts together have 909 tanks. Most of the large tanks, including Madurantakam, Sriperumbudur and Uthiramerur, have filled up. As a token of gratitude, residents of Edamichi near Uthiramerur offered flowers and fruits at the tank in the village that has filled up for the second consecutive year.
D. Balaji, president, Edamichi Lake Water Users Association, said, “We still follow our forefathers’ tradition of paying respects to the rain and the waterbody, which is a major source of our livelihood. We even release a one-gram gold mangalsutra , along with coconut, in the water.”
Spread over 400 acres, the lake is the source of water for irrigation and drinking water supply in three villages. The surplus water released from this lake joins the Palar through the lakes in Salavakkam and S. Mambakkam. Six waterbodies falling in the Chennai limits, too, are full.
In Tiruvallur district, 248 of the 818 tanks, including those maintained by the Water Resources Department, are full.
As the Poondi reservoir received a heavy flow of 12,000 cusecs, the discharge into the Kosasthalaiyar was steadily increased to 12,000 cusecs by Sunday evening.
The district administration issued a flood warning to villages downstream and those falling in the city limits.
