The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Tiruvallur tanks on verge of becoming `dead' structures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 02, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Tiruvallur tanks on verge of becoming `dead' structures

T. Ramakrishnan

Massive trenches on tank beds curb water flow

CHENNAI: Several irrigation tanks in Tiruvallur district are in danger of becoming "dead" structures, thanks to over-extraction of earth from their beds.

Today, the tanks in the villages of Koduvalli, Magarel, Karanai and Sivamvayal have massive trenches within themselves, rendering discharge of water for irrigation impossible. During rainy season, water gets stored in the trenches, which are formed much below the sluices, say sources in the Public Works Department, the custodian of water resources in the State. Another problem that arises in the rainy months is that cattle get invariably caught in the trenches.

Used for making bricks, the earth from the tank beds is in huge demand, given the boom in real estate industry in and around Chennai. This explains the presence of numerous brick kiln units in the Tiruvallur district, which adjoins the city.

(The local revenue officials give permission for quarrying of the earth from tanks, after consulting the PWD. They specify in their orders the quantity to be removed and the period of quarrying).

But, what is strange is that such a scenario has come about when the Government is keen on promoting fly ash, universally acknowledged as an effective alternative to the earth. The construction industry here too is conscious of the advantages of fly ash. In terms of cost, it may be marginally higher than the traditionally-used material but quality wise, it is better.

In November 2003, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board sent a communication to the PWD, emphasising the use of fly ash in construction. The communication referred to the new rules issued by the Centre, making mandatory for construction agencies to use fly ash bricks or cement fly ash bricks or a combination of them for construction of buildings taken up within a radius of 100 km from a coal or lignite-based thermal power plant.

About a year ago, the TNPCB held a seminar with representatives of the construction industry to popularise the concept of fly ash. Thermal power stations run by the Electricity Board "offer" the material at a very nominal rate and power managers complain that there are no takers for fly ash. Reasons are many as to why the use of fly ash has not taken off. "The basic problem is the lack of awareness among the public and builders," N. Sairam, former chairman of the southern centre of the Builders' Association of India (BAI), says, adding that efforts for greater sensitisation have to be undertaken by all concerned.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu

News Update

Stories in this Section

Inhaler therapy key to asthma control

Tiruvallur tanks on verge of becoming `dead' structures

Aquarium set to receive the holiday crowd

Hospital launches paediatric pulmonology wing

Wildlife trophies come under microscope

Around the City

In Chennai Today

Reader's Mail