Poondi Lake – Chennai’s thirst quencher

S Balakrishnan
The ever-expanding Chennai City’s drinking water demand is also ever-increasing. It is gratifying that a dam built with forethought some 81 years ago is still quenching Chennai’s thirst. The Poondi Dam, completed in 1944, is an important freshwater source for Chennai.  It was in fact a drought that led to its execution.
In the year 1938, the north-east monsoon had failed and Madras ‘Pattinam’ (Chennai ‘City’ was then called Madras ‘Pattinam’) started feeling water shortage. Shri S. Satyamurthi, the Congress stalwart, became the Mayor of Madras Corporation in November 1939 when the city was gripped with acute water shortage. [Sundara Sastri Satyamurti (19 August 1887 – 28 March 1943) was an independence activist and politician. He was a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji)].To resolve this recurring problem, Satyamurthi conceived the Poondi Lake project and saw to its successful completion.  Having earlier served the Madras Corporation as a councillor and an alderman for 15 years, he was well aware of the issues faced by the city.Satyamurthi was also a Member of the Madras Legislative Council (1923-29) and the Central Legislative Assembly (1935-39). By the by, the first corporation in British India was the Madras Municipal Corporation, established way back in 1688 itself by the British East India Company. Satyamurthi served as the Mayor of Madras Corporation during 1939-40 under a system of communal rotation when the term was just for one year.
The Poondi dam was declared open on June 14, 1944 by the then Governor of the Madras Presidency, Sir Arthur Hope, who had also laid its foundation on August 8, 1940.The dam for drinking water purposes was built across the Kosasthalaiyar / Kotralai River in Tiruvallur district, some 60 kms north-west of Madras. The project cost had escalated to 65 lakh rupees as against the estimated ¹ 61.71 lakhs due to higher land acquisition compensation. The Madras Corporation shared ¹ 39.42 lakhs.  The initial capacity of 2,573 Mcft (million cubic feet) was later raised to 3,231 Mcft by raising its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) from 33 feet to 35 feet, thereby aligning it with the Central Water Commission standards. The water spread area is 760 sq. miles (1968 sq.km)!Surplus water is directed to Tamaraipakkam Anicut (dam) and then to Sholavaram and Puzhal lakes. Kosasthalaiyar River originates near Pallipattu in Thiruvallur district and drains into the Bay of Bengal near Ennore, an industrial suburb of Chennai, after traversing 136 km. The length of the dam is 770ft. and its width is 18 ft.  The bunds on both sides of the dam are 20 ft. wide.Though buses were also plying across the dam road, now only two-wheelers are allowed with a speed limit of 8 kmph to reach the villages on either side. Heavy vehicles take a low bridge built a little further away. The right flank bund of the reservoir has an 8km-long paved walkway for walkers. The lake is so wide that from this point the opposite bank is not visible, proving the tag ‘Sagar” (Ocean).
The dam is free for public visit during day time, but it lacks basic amenities like restrooms, drinking water and a cafe. Also, as it is a drinking water source, no bathing, fishing or boating is permitted. The best time would be when excess water is released during north-east monsoon (Nov.-Jan.) which, however, becomes a threat to Chennai.The entry is through forest area with a small archaeological museum on the way.A few ancient temples are also located on the way. Poondi is a known archaeological area and the Gudiyam cave is one such site.
Poondi Reservoir was renamed Satyamurthi Sagar in honour of the dam’s visionary by his political ‘shishya’ Shri K.Kamaraj who was the chief minister of Madras State (now Tamil Nadu) from 1954 to 1963.  The SatyamurthiSagar at Poondi, the only dam to quench Chennai’s thirst, has successfully crossed 80 years.
The writer can be reached at [email protected]