CORPORATION TO RESTORE TEMPLE TANKS UNDER SINGARA CHENNAI 2.0

CHENNAI: This summer, Greater Chennai Corporation has planned to restore various temple tanks across the city under Singara Chennai 2.0 funds. Around 24 crore has been allocated overall for 14 works such as restoring parks, playfields, and water bodies and renovating school buildings. A portion of these funds would be put into use to restore some of the temple tanks including the Chitrakulam tank in Mylapore, the Kothandaraman Tank in Mambalam and the Agastheeswarar temple tank in Valasaravakkam. About 2.9 crore has been allocated to restore the Agastheeswarar temple tank in Valasaravakkam that’s under the HR and CE department. City corporation chief engineer S Rajendiran said the major challenge for the corporation is to identify sewage inflow points at SWDs around the temple tanks and plug them. “This work will be done in a localised manner. Usually, if temple tanks fill up during rains, it acts as a groundwater recharge for local residents. We also want the tanks to house habitats like fish,” he said. He said under restoration works, 10% of it would be to desilt the tank, while the remaining works would include plugging sewage, setting up walkways, tree plantation, sitting area, and safety walls. Rajendiran said core city areas have a lot of temple tanks, while in the outer areas, there would be ponds. “We will focus on both,” he said. In the Kothandaramar tank, works to set up CCTV cameras and boundaries would be taken up. In chief minister M K Stalin’s constituency of kolathur, the corporation has restored the amman kovil temple tankwith a walikngand sitting area.

‘Some of the residents said the tanks are unclean even during the float festival. “Maintenance should not be a onetime affair but should happen throughout the year. These tanks turn into a breeding ground for mosquitoes. All the rainwater harvesting systems the corporation created a few years ago for water to percolate into these tanks are defunct,” said R Ramesh, a civic activist. He said in Mylapore’s Chitrakulam, encroachers and shops around are spoiling the tank. People complained of Tasmac shops being a menace around the Kothandaramar tank too. Sathish Galley of OMR said there are about four tanks on the OMR side, and proper fencing needs to be done. “We still see people go there and wash clothes.

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