Chennai Corporation begins restoration of Villivakkam tank

CHENNAI: Work on restoring the Villivakkam tank at a cost of Rs 16 crore began on Wednesday with minister for municipal administration and water supply S P Velumani kicking off the project at a ceremonial event.
TOI reported in January that the Chennai Smart City Limited, the special purpose vehicle set up to implement the Smart Cities Mission, had given its approval for the project.
The Greater Chennai Corporation will carry out eco-restoration work on 24.64acre expanse of the tank bed. The work includes de-silting to increase the tank's storage capacity.
The corporation has recovered a further 2.86 acres of land on the tank bund after clearing encroachments. The minister noted that Metrowater Board, which owns the tank, would retain an area of 11.50 acres to operate its pumping station and to carry out expansion works in the future for its sewage treatment plant.
"The tank presently holds water to a depth of one metre. The storage capacity will be increased by three to five times," said Velumani, adding that this would help improve ground water table in the neighbourhood. At present, SIDCO Nagar residents have sunk borewells to a depth of 100 feet and more to obtain water.
Corporation officials said of the total project cost, Rs 6.75 crore would be spent towards constructing a compound wall around the tank. "The compound wall would be 1.6km long," said an official.
The eco-restoration work also includes setting up of online sensors for monitoring the tank's water quality. Bio-filters and floating wetland systems would be created to reduce the impact of environmental pollution on the tank and the aquatic microbial life it helps sustain.
"The tank bund will be strengthened adopting the stone rip rap method. Filter fabric layers would be used to support floral life along the bund," a corporation note said.
The note suggested that the corporation plans to set up parking space, open air theatres, an entrance plaza, skating ring, Aavin parlour, walking pathway, a play area for children that includes a tunnel and a maze and an outdoor gym as part of the renovation.
Landscaping of the area around the water body has also been proposed. "A new road will be formed abutting the TVS canal," a corporation official said.
The TVS canal will serve as the outlet for the tank to discharge excess flood water during monsoon. "After restoration, the Villivakkam tank will serve as an attractive recreational spot for residents in neighbourhoods like Korattur, Anna Nagar, Ambattur and Villivakkam," Velumani said.
The minister added that work on restoring 32 smaller sized water bodies in the city was progressing at a decent pace. This project, also executed under Chennai Smart City Limited, will cost the corporation Rs 5.85 crore.