Chinna Teppakulam is fraught with danger

‘Children face the danger of getting sucked into the small drainage tunnel’

After a brief respite from the heat due to the summer showers, Madurai city is back to experiencing hot days.

For children and farmers producing greens, the Chinna Teppakulam, through which Vaigai river water is drained to fill up Teppakulam has been providing a a much needed relief in the last few days.

Young boys are seen diving into the tank that stabilises the force of flow of water that has been opened from the check-dam near Albert Victor Bridge to fill water in Teppakulam.

The permanent structure set up by the Public Works Department, including a check dam, allows water from Vaigai river to flow through the Panaiyur channel. The release of water into Teppakulam began on April 13 after water from Vaigai dam, released for Chithirai festival, reached the city.

The Public Works Department flushed the sewage in Panaiyur channel for the first two days and then started to divert water into Teppakulam.

Water level in the temple tank that was around 4 feet has now been replenished upto its inlet drain.

" Since, the evaporation loss is high and also the usage of ground water goes up during summer, keeping the highest quantity of water will help recharge ground water in and around the Teppakulam region," a PWD engineer said.