CHENNAI: The new Kannankottai-Thervoy Kandigai reservoir in Thiruvallur district, touted to be Chennai’s fifth reservoir to meet its drinking water needs, will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday.
The inauguration will be presided over by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. A statement from the government on Thursday said the new reservoir will help meet Chennai’s growing water needs. The reservoir, built at a cost of Rs 380 crore, was announced by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2012.
The reservoir spans over 1,485 acres, out of which 800.6 acres were patta land and 54.59 acres procured from the Forest Department.
Provisions have been made to supply 66 million litres of drinking water to the city. Currently, Chennai’s drinking water needs, which amounts to an average of 1 TMC a month, are catered to by Poondi, Chembarambakkam, Sholavaram and Red Hills reservoirs.
According to the release, the addition of the fifth reservoir will increase the supply from 11 TMC to 11.75 TMC. The government’s efforts have pushed Chennai from being a water-scarce city to a surplus city, according to the release.
It also pointed out that the State’s efforts have been acknowledged by the Union government, which announced Tamil Nadu as the ‘Best State’ for the National Water Awards 2019 presented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.