CHENNAI: A public consultation meeting on the proposed Mamallan Reservoir project near Tiruporur in Chengalpattu was held on Tuesday (July 14). The reservoir, estimated to cost around 342.60 crore, is planned over an extent of 5,161 acres.

It is designed to store 1.65 TMC of rainwater that currently flows through the Buckingham Canal into the sea during the northeast monsoon.

Officials of the Water Resources Department said that the project would improve groundwater levels in Tiruporur and surrounding ECR and OMR areas, benefiting rapidly developing residential layouts, commercial buildings and corporate campuses.

They added that the stored water could also serve as a drinking water source for Chennai and its suburbs while supporting irrigation in nearby agricultural lands.

However, fishermen opposed the project and claimed that the reservoir would affect their livelihoods of people from 16 fishing villages living along the salt pan and Buckingham Canal regions.

They also expressed concern that the project could disrupt the breeding of marine species such as fish, prawns and crabs, besides increasing the vulnerability of nearby habitations during natural disasters such as tsunamis.

Assuring that their concerns would be given due consideration, officials responded that detailed studies indicated the project would enhance the region’s water resources and environmental sustainability without causing major hardship to fishermen or residents.

The meeting was chaired by Chengalpattu District Revenue Officer Ganesh Kumar.

Officials from WRD, Revenue, and police departments, and also local body representatives, MLAs, RWAs and fishermen’s organisations participated.