Veeranam Lake
Veeranam Lake(Veeranaaraayanapuram 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 (0.62 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)
Climate
Like most of coastal Tamil Nadu, the areas adjoining
Veeranam tank has a sub-tropical climate receiving most of the rainfall during
the North-East monsoons from Oct - Dec. Hot weather prevails in the summer
months from March to June, and the maximum temperature varies from
30–38 °C. Being close to the coast cyclones that strike the area have a
profound impact, resulting in heavy rains.
Two rainfall monitoring stations are located in
Veeranam Tank one at its right bank i.e. Kattumannarkoil and another at left
bank i.e. Sethiyathope. The average rainfall in these stations is more than the
state average of 950 mm. During the last 18 years the average annual
rainfall in Kattumannarkoil is 1025 mm. In Sethiyathope, the average
annual rainfall during the last 25 years is 1273 mm. But due to the
vagaries of the North-East monsoon, Veeranam tank often has to depend on water
from Mettur dam.
History
Veeranam Tank is one of the biggest tanks in Tamil
Nadu and also an age old one. This tank has been referred briefly in the book
called “Ponniyen Selvan” Written by the famous author ‘Kalki’ in the year 1950.
This book gives the information on the age of this tank and it has been
mentioned that the tank was formed at a period of more than 1000 years by the
Prince Rajathithar Son of Paranthaka Chola. The tank was originally called as
Veeranarayanan Tank.
When king Paranthaka Chola I ruled over Chola
Kingdom during the 10th century i.e. 907 to 935 AD he wanted to improve the
Irrigation facilities in and around Chidambaram. He formed a village called as
‘Veera Narayana Sathurvethi Mangalam. This Village was gifted to the Scholars
who were well versed in the Four Vedas. This Village is now called as
Kattumannarkoil which is situated in the right flank of Veeranam Tank. He then
formed the biggest tank and named it as ‘Veera Narayanan Eri’ ‘Veera Narayanan’
is the nickname given to king Paranthaka Chola I for his Valour. Subsequently
this tank is now called Veeranam Tank.
During the later period of Chola Kingdom, King
Rajendra Chola I who ruled during the period 1012 AD to 1044 AD, Spread his
kingdom up to Ganges. He conquered the lands up to River Ganges. In Memory of
his Victory he formed the Village ‘Gangai Konda Cholapuram’ during the year
1024 AD. In addition to that in order to improve the Irrigation facilities in
and around the new Village, he formed a new tank and called it as ‘Chola Gangam’.
He made a link between ‘Chola gangam’ and Veeranarayanan Eri so that the former
surpluses into the later. The tank ‘Chola Gangam’ is now called as ‘Ponneri
Tank’ which is situated at the road connecting Jeyamkondam and Gangaikonda
Cholapuram. These details were collected from Saraswathi Mahal Library at
Tanjore.
Veeranam Lake and water resources
Veeranam Lake is a major tank attached to
Chidambaram Division of South Arcot. PWD circle and the Lalpet Section of PWD
is in charge of the maintenance and operation of irrigation systems of this
tank.
The location of this tank is between latitudes 11 15
‘E and 11 25’ E and Longitudes 79 30’ N and 79 35’ N