The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Chennai needs mega desalination project: expert

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 01, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Chennai needs mega desalination project: expert

K. Kirubanidhi

River-linking scheme `a good bet' Groundwater in aquifers in and around the city `should be tapped without mining them'

CHENNAI: Chennai's water crisis has its roots in history. With no river worth its name to tap water for drinking purposes and the population booming, water authorities had to look to the Kosastalayar basin, whose meagre resources provided the first planned water supply to the city through Red Hills and Sholavaram.

"With the unreliable North East Monsoon, upon which the small streams are dependent, we are trying to get water from the river in the north, Krishna, which is influenced by the (more dependable) South West Monsoon," says A. Mohanakrishnan, former Chief Engineer (Irrigation) of Tamil Nadu and now the Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Cell and Tamil Nadu Government's Adviser on Water Resources, who has executed major irrigation projects for the State and played a key role in building the Lower Bhavani. Krishnagiri, Sathanur and other dams in the Plan projects.

As the Chairman of the Expert Committee on the Telugu Ganga Project, he admits that the 12 tmcft that is to be realised for Chennai under the project is "unfortunately" not happening right now but he has high hopes, as the "Andhra brothers" had been accommodative. It is indeed his achievement that saw through the talks with the neighbouring State on the technical and political feasibility of the project.

The Veeranam project, whose first stage successfully served the needs of the water-starved city, has come as a boon at the right time. "We also have a proposal to draw water from the Cauvery, tapping the same just below the Mettur reservoir for which estimates have been made," the 79-year-old engineer said.

Asked about desalination, he said what Chennai needed was a mega project that could be "a standby" in case of monsoon failure. This must be done irrespective of the cost, as it could meet part of the drinking water needs of a huge population.

A part-time member of the Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers, he says the present scheme on linking of rivers is the best one so far as it has taken into account the strengths and weaknesses of the previous plans.

It aims at sharing the flows equitably among the river basins in the country.

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