Chennai on alert as rain fills up reservoirs
CHENNAI: Incessant rain over several days have filled up lakes around Chennai, raising fear among the population, officials said on Tuesday.
Lakes supplying drinking water to Chennai are rapidly filling up. The water level of Chembarambakkam Lake, the water source of Chennai, has crossed 7 metres, almost 80% of its full storage capacity of 8metres.
The police as well as fire and rescue forces have been put on high alert.
Many lakes in other parts of Tamil Nadu also are reaching full capacity, the officials said.
Chem bar am bakk am lakei snow receiving water at a rate of 1,086 cubic feet per second, according to official estmates. This is the first time ater 2015 that Chembarambakkam lake filled up so much. In 2015, floods had severely damaged the reservoir.
The Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board have, said there is no cause for panic. They said water will be released slowly if the rain continues.
As of Tuesday morning, the other three main reservoirs in the city are also at higher levels compared to last year. The Poondi reservoir is at 1446 mct, 44% of its full capacity. Cholavaram has recorded 155 mct (14% of full capacity) of water compared to 138 mc t last year; Redhills has seen over 1,000 mct increase, recording 2,403 mct this year (72% of full capacity) compared to 1,267 mct last year.
Chennai Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal has ordered his forces to be prepared for any emergency if water is discharged from Chembarambakkam lake. He said water would be released if the lake reaches 7 metres. Police will need to evacuate people living on the banks of Thiruneermalai, Kundrathur, Vazhuthalambedu, Natham, Thirumudivakkam, Sirukalathur, Manappakkam and other places.
Fire and rescue personnel are ready with motorboats, life jackets, ropes and motors for pumping out water. Flood-prone areas have also been identified for immediate services.
Chennai on Tuesday saw new infections dropping below the 500 mark for the first time in 182 days. Officials said this is a decline of 60 per cent when compared to what was being reported on a daily basis till a few weeks ago.
On the political front, late chief minister M. Karunanidhi’s elder son MK Alagiri on Tuesday denied reports that he was planning to join the BJP. The former Southern Regional Secretary of the main opposition DMK and an ex-union minister, Alagiri was expelled from the DMK by his father in 2013.