Veeranam Lake
Encyclopedia
Veeranam Lake is located 14 km (8.7 mi) SSW of Chidambaram
in Cuddalore district
in the state
of Tamil Nadu
in South India
. 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) from Sethiyathope. The lake located 235 km (146 mi) from Chennai
, India
, is one of the water reservoirs from where water is planned to be supplied to Chennai.
The Veeranam project, to supply water to Chennai, was conceived in 1967 by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C. N. Annadurai, and executed under his successor, M. Karunanidhi. The project was subject to rampant corruption and money earmarked for the project was lost leading to stagnation of the project. The project's completion in 2004 was a major political victory for the AIADMK
government of the time due to the project's long history of corruption and politicking. Ironically it was impossible to use any water from the lake since it had run dry, and the face-saving proposal adopted by the authorities was to dig 45 deep borewells
around the area and pump the resulting water 235 km (146 mi) to Chennai via the pipeline. While the new direction the project took was heavily criticized by local farmers and conservationists fearing depletion of the ground water resulting from the borewells, the fears have been unfounded and for the most part the lake and the surrounding borewells have been able to provide between 50 - 180 mld(million litres daily)
is set on the banks of the Veera Narayanar Lake. Kalki
gives an elaborate description of the features of the lake and the way multiple rivers flow into the lake. He also makes a reference to the fact, that Ramanujacharya decided on the number of peetas based on the number of openings in the lake. This is the Veeraanam Lake formerly known as Veeranaaraayanapuram Lake.
Veeranam Lake, built by the Chola kings, is the main reservoir to meet the drinking water requirements of Chennai city. The lake draws water from the Cauvery River. The Lake is located at Senthathope which is about 230 km south of Chennai. The lake has a capacity to store about 1,465 mcft of water.
Though the level in the Veeranam lake has dipped to 323 million cubic feet (mcft), the same amount of 180 mld (million litres a day) was being drawn for city supply.
Water released from the Mettur dam through Kollidam and Lower Anicut would also bring in sufficient inflow into the Veeranam Lake.
The lake received sufficient inflow in April enabling supply to the city for three months With heavy rain in Western Ghats, the lake almost got its storage capacity as it received inflow from the Cauvery tributaries Bhavani and Amaravathi.
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
in Cuddalore district
Cuddalore District
Cuddalore District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Cuddalore is the district headquarters. For the first time, urn burial grave goods were found in the village of Marungur in the district, carrying inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi from the 1st century...
in the state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) from Sethiyathope. The lake located 235 km (146 mi) from Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, is one of the water reservoirs from where water is planned to be supplied to Chennai.
The Veeranam project, to supply water to Chennai, was conceived in 1967 by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C. N. Annadurai, and executed under his successor, M. Karunanidhi. The project was subject to rampant corruption and money earmarked for the project was lost leading to stagnation of the project. The project's completion in 2004 was a major political victory for the AIADMK
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...
government of the time due to the project's long history of corruption and politicking. Ironically it was impossible to use any water from the lake since it had run dry, and the face-saving proposal adopted by the authorities was to dig 45 deep borewells
Borehole
A borehole is the generalized term for any narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water or other liquid or gases , as part of a geotechnical investigation, environmental site...
around the area and pump the resulting water 235 km (146 mi) to Chennai via the pipeline. While the new direction the project took was heavily criticized by local farmers and conservationists fearing depletion of the ground water resulting from the borewells, the fears have been unfounded and for the most part the lake and the surrounding borewells have been able to provide between 50 - 180 mld(million litres daily)
History
Veeranam Lake was created during Chola period in the tenth century, built from 1011 to 1037 AD and is an 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long dam in northern Tamil Nadu. This veeranam lake gets water from Kollidam via Vadavar River. Ironically, the lake remains dry for a major part of the year.In literature
The opening chapter of the book Ponniyin SelvanPonniyin Selvan
Ponniyin Selvan is a 2400 page 20th-century Tamil historical novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Written in 5 volumes, this narrates the story of Arulmozhivarman , one of the kings of the Chola Dynasty during the 10th-11th century CE period.-Historical background:Ponniyin Selvan is a historical...
is set on the banks of the Veera Narayanar Lake. Kalki
Kalki
In Hinduism, Kalki is the tenth and final Maha Avatar of Vishnu who will come to end the present age of darkness and destruction known as Kali Yuga. The name Kalki is often a metaphor for eternity or time...
gives an elaborate description of the features of the lake and the way multiple rivers flow into the lake. He also makes a reference to the fact, that Ramanujacharya decided on the number of peetas based on the number of openings in the lake. This is the Veeraanam Lake formerly known as Veeranaaraayanapuram Lake.
Veeranam Lake, built by the Chola kings, is the main reservoir to meet the drinking water requirements of Chennai city. The lake draws water from the Cauvery River. The Lake is located at Senthathope which is about 230 km south of Chennai. The lake has a capacity to store about 1,465 mcft of water.
Though the level in the Veeranam lake has dipped to 323 million cubic feet (mcft), the same amount of 180 mld (million litres a day) was being drawn for city supply.
Water released from the Mettur dam through Kollidam and Lower Anicut would also bring in sufficient inflow into the Veeranam Lake.
The lake received sufficient inflow in April enabling supply to the city for three months With heavy rain in Western Ghats, the lake almost got its storage capacity as it received inflow from the Cauvery tributaries Bhavani and Amaravathi.