Chennai to get its fifth reservoir at Thervoy Kandigai by July

An official attached to the Public Works Department (PWD) (Irrigation) said that the works were carried out only for 35 days in the last three months.

“The work was hampered due to the northeast monsoon. We only worked for 10 days in December. Small shower in the region disrupted the work for six days. The rain made it difficult for workers to continue with the construction,” the official said.

The new reservoir will be constructed at a height of 14 metres to augment drinking water supply to the city.

“Only 40 per cent of the work is pending. The deepening work of the reservoir is successfully completed. This implies that there will no more problems related to land acquisition,” said the official.

The Rs 380-crore project was envisaged with an aim to meet the ever-increasing water needs of the city. Since its announcement, it was mired in land acquisition problems after the local farmers started demanding 1.5 times of the announced compensation amount under the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act of 2013.

Under the plan, a 7.15 km canal was built to carry water from Kandaleru-Poondi canal to the new reservoir.

Of the total sanctioned fund, Rs 160 crore was spent on the settlement for farmlands. The remaining amount of Rs 220 crore will be spent on manual labour and construction.