The unpolluted stretch of Cooum River is set to get one more check dam at Perambakkam in Tiruvallur district. However, residents have raised concerns over discharge of sewage and urged the State government to ensure that the check dams do not turn into sewage discharge points.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) has started the process to construct the check dam — a storage structure that will retain floodwater and boost groundwater table. It will come up around 7.7 km downstream of Kesavaram anicut at a cost of ₹6.50 crore.

Many check dams across the Cooum in Tiruvallur have retained water even during summer. This has encouraged the WRD to chalk out plans to build more storage structures for recharging groundwater and preventing floods in Chennai.

Officials said that the check dam, across the 85-metre-wide river, would have a design to discharge nearly 10,556 cubic feet of water per second (cusecs) and a storage capacity of nearly 6.74 million cubic feet of water (mcft), when filled twice a year.

“This check dam will retain water in the Cooum for a length of 1.4 km, help irrigate about 360 acres of land and recharge borewells that are used to supply drinking water…,” an official said.

The WRD is set to start the work in May or early June, and complete it in a year. Welcoming the efforts to build more check dams across the river, residents said that the check dams too were not spared of sewage discharge in fast-urbanising areas.

K. Mugundhan, co-ordinator, Unpolluted Cooum Protection Committee, said that residents of Soranchery and Anaikattucherry benefited from the new check dam near Soranchery for irrigation and drinking water needs. However, a check dam along Kaduvetti village near Paruthipattu had become vulnerable to sewage discharge. “It is important for government agencies to ensure that check dams do not become sewage discharge points of nearby local bodies,” he added.

Officials of the WRD said they were coordinating with the local bodies to address the issues.

Tension escalated at Kanaganakuppa village of Manchenahalli taluk in Chikkaballapur district after a protest against a road construction project turned violent, leaving a villager with a bullet injury.
The incident occurred during a demonstration by villagers Wednesday morning against the construction of a road to a stone-crusher site, with the protesters arguing that it would cut through agricultural land and disrupt the ecological balance in the area. The villagers had been protesting peacefully for the past few days, but the situation took a drastic turn when the crusher owner, Sakalesh, arrived at the site with earth-moving equipment to begin the road work.
According to witnesses, a heated argument broke out between the villagers and Sakalesh, who is a close associate of a BJP functionary. During the altercation, Sakalesh claimed someone in the crowd hurled a stone at him, causing a head injury. In retaliation, he opened fire at the protesters, hitting their leader Ravi in the knee, the witnesses said. They stated that after Ravi fell, Sakalesh kicked him, before being restrained by other villagers.
Ravi was rushed to the General Hospital in Chikkaballapur for treatment. Meanwhile, the villagers refuted the stone-pelting allegation, saying the protest had been peaceful until Sakalesh brandished his pistol and dared anyone to approach him.
The crusher site, located about 1km from the village, is also close to two temples. The villagers argued that the setting up of the crusher would disturb the sanctity and environment around the places of worship. Ravi stated that his protest was aimed at protecting the local ecology and preserving the atmosphere surrounding the religious sites.
According to locals, the crusher licence is reportedly linked to a prominent BJP politician, and the site has been leased out to Sakalesh, who is from Bengaluru. Manchenahalli police have arrested Sakalesh and launched an investigation into the incident.
Chikkaballapur SP Kushal Chousky said the 9mm pistol has been seized.
Photo caption: A screengrab of Sakalesh at the protest site