Ponneri fills up

The Ponneri tank at Kuruvalapparkoil in Udayarpalayam taluk in Ariyalur district, one of the biggest ones, has reached its full capacity thanks to rain during this month.

With a storage capacity of 114.46 million cubic feet (mcft), it is said to have been dug by Rajendra Chola over a 1000 years ago and it was originally known as Cholagangam, according to Public Works Department officials.

This is the third consecutive year that the tank has reached its full capacity. It has an ayacut of about 1,370 acres in Pichanur, Kuruvalapparkoil, Elayaperumalnallur, Gangaikondacholapuram, Ulkotttai and Ayuthakalam villages in Udayarpalayam taluk. The tank’s storage depth is 5.20 metres at full level and its bund runs a length of 4,800 metres. Its catchment area is spread over about 168 square kilometre.

PWD officials said the surplus waters from Ponneri will flow into Valavan tank and Vadava channel before running into the Veeranam lake. Although the recent rain has caused inundation of fields in some places in Andimadam and Jayamkondam blocks, the filling up of the Ponneri would help farmers and local residents to tide over summer without much problem with respect to availability of water for drinking and other purposes.

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