Chennai rains: Surplus water from Chembarambakkam Reservoir to be released as heavy downpour lashes city

Chennai: Heavy rains lashed Chennai and its suburbs since early Tuesday, prompting authorities to gear up for releasing surplus water from the Chembarambakkam Reservoir here and alert people living on the banks of the Adyar river to be on the vigil. The incessant rains, which returned to the city after a break of several weeks, led to waterlogging in several roads, and motorists and others faced a tough time reaching their destinations. The MET office issued an alert for heavy rain (7 cm to 11 cm) at isolated places over Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, and Tiruvannamalai districts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Tuesday. Officials said about 500 cusecs of surplus water would be released from Chembarambakkam Reservoir, one of the major sources of the metropolis’ water requirements, into Adyar River. “In the first phase, 500 cusecs of surplus water will be released from Chembarambakkam reservoir,” an official release here said. Authorities advised people living close to the banks of Adyar River and other channels that carry the surplus water from the reservoir to not get close to the river or other water bodies and stay at safe places. The flood gates of the sprawling reservoir were opened on 25 November for the first time in five years following heavy rains then ahead of Nivar cyclone brought in copious inflows under the influence of the North-East Monsoon. The delayed opening of the reservoir in 2015 after very heavy rains was seen as a trigger for the devastating floods that hit the city then, though the government had rejected it.