New reservoir to miss May deadline.

The fifth reservoir being created at Thervoy Kandigai-Kannan- kottai, to cater to the city's growing water needs, will miss its deadline next month.

The project is being delayed due to administrative procedures. The new deadline is September.

With the time-frame given to farmers for harvest in Kannankottai, Tiruvallur district, coming to an end, the water resources department (WRD) has begun work to construct a bund on a part of the stretch, and also create a water-spread area.

However, work to build a canal to link water from Kandaleru-Poondi canal to the new reservoir is still pending in parts, as WRD is awaiting approval from the Central government.

'We expect to get the approval to work on the Karadiputhur land, that belongs to the forest department, in June,' said an official. Nearly 40 per cent of the Rs. 330-crore project, which aims to link the waterbodies at Thervoy Kandigai and Kannankottai, has been completed so far. The city mainly gets its water supply from reservoirs in Red Hills, Chembarambakkam, Poondi and Cholavaram.

WRD is also facing procedural delays in transporting clay from other waterbodies to create the core bund. Though the waterbodies belong to WRD, approval from the Tiruvallur district administration is needed to transport the clayey soil.

Moreover, only interim compensation has been provided to the land owners. WRD is awaiting a directive from the Commissionerate of Land Administration.

The reservoir will supply 66 million litres of water a day to Chennai.


THE HINDU