In full swing: Work on to drain out water from Nuthanchery tank in Madambakkam near Tambaram on Tuesday. A section of residents in Nuthanchery village, Madambakkam town panchayat near Tambaram have objected to the draining out of water from a tank in their locality, fearing it would affect the water table of domestic and farm wells nearby. However, officials said they were draining out only a portion of water from the Nuthanchery tank to carry out improvement works under the Community Based Environment Development Scheme of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. The Nuthanchery residents told reporters on Tuesday morning that the ancient tank was brought under the CMDA-assisted scheme more than two years ago. The tank was desilted and the mud that was scooped out was used to strengthen its bunds. Even then residents had to confront certain hostile sections who attempted to sell the scooped-out mud. Officials of the Directorate of Town Panchayats allayed residents' fears, stating that water to a depth of only two feet from the surface would be drained out. Water to a depth of more than 15 feet was stored in the tank. The plan was to strengthen the tank's bunds and sidewalls and only a marginal quantity of water was being drained out, they said. For rejuvenating the Nuthanchery Tank, CMDA's contribution was Rs. 5.8 lakh, while residents and Madambakkam town panchayat gave about Rs. 1.2 lakh. They made it clear that water table in the village would not be affected and that even after the improvement works, there would be sufficient water. The objection was only from a section of people. Under a similar scheme, a tank in Pathuvanchery was revived and there were no problems, the officials added.
