Krishna water released to meet Chennai’s summer needs
The Hindu
Krishna water was released from Kandaleru reservoir, Andhra Pradesh, on Monday to cater to Chennai’s summer needs. Water is likely to reach the Tamil Nadu border in Uthukkottai, Tiruvallur district, in two days.
Krishna water was released from Kandaleru reservoir, Andhra Pradesh, on Monday to cater to Chennai’s summer needs. Water is likely to reach the Tamil Nadu border in Uthukkottai, Tiruvallur district, in two days.
The five reservoirs that feed the city’s drinking water needs now have a combined storage capacity of 7,496 million cubic feet (mcft), which is 64% of their capacity. The water resources department sought discharge of Krishna water this month to manage the summer peak demand and boost water level in the lakes.
Officials of the water resources department said about 2,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) were released from Kandaleru reservoir on Monday. “We expect to receive close to 1,000 cusecs after water is drawn for drinking water and irrigation needs en route in AP areas,” said an official.
Water would have to travel another 25 km to Poondi reservoir, where it would be stored and distributed.
The department has sought 2,000 mcft of Krishna water to be released for the city’s requirements. If 1,000 cusecs are received daily in the State limit of the Kandaleru Poondi canal, the Poondi reservoir would release 2,000 mcft in nearly one and a half months.
Krishna water is imperative to augment storage as nearly 700 million litres of water a day are sourced from the lakes, including those in Red Hills and Chembarambakkam, officials said. Chennai Metrowater now supplies about 1,029 mld of drinking water to the city. Of this, nearly 992 mld of water is provided through pipelines and tankers to residents, including those in additional areas.
The WRD had also completed 90% of the work to improve portions of the KP canal to minimise seepage loss. The proposed work to repair shutters in Poondi reservoir has also been postponed, enabling better storage in the water body.
With increased terminal entry points (eGates) at Mumbai International airport from 24 to 68, which is the highest number of e-gates at kerbside or landside in the country, the expansion will enhance the airport’s processing capacity to an astounding 7,440 passengers per hour at Terminal 2 (T2) and 2,160 at T1