Rejuvenation of Otteri lake, a British-era man-made facility, on the outskirts of Vellore Corporation, has helped the waterbody to reach its full storage capacity on Saturday since the 2021 floods.

Officials of Vellore Corporation, which maintains the waterbody, said that regular rain in catchment areas like Palamathi, Kolavimedu and Naickaneri tribal hamlets at Jawadhu Hills in October has gradually increased water level in the lake.

“Water from the lake is also drawn to meet the water needs of residents within civic body limits. The full capacity of the lake also helps to recharge groundwater in its surrounding,” said R. Lakshman, Commissioner, Vellore Corporation.

Spread over 19 acres, the Otteri lake was built in 1904 to provide a regular water supply to British troops stationed inside Vellore fort. Pipelines and Over Head Tanks (OHTs) were built to supply water from the lake to officers’ quarters inside the spacious fort complex.

The lake has a total storage capacity of 19 MLD (millions of liters per day). “Water in the lake is also used to irrigate farmlands in the surrounding villages. Residents also drill borewells near the lake to draw water for domestic use,” said K. Raman, a farmer.

Corporation officials said that, as part of rejuvenation, accumulated silt deposits in the lake were removed. On an average, around 45 centimeters of silt gets deposited in the lake area every year.

Most of the silt deposits are dry vegetation, animal wastes and grit from the hills that are washed during rains. Accumulated silt was removed for storage of excess rainwater in the lake, which was rejuvenated many years ago.

During monsoon, excess rainwater from the lake gets discharged into the stormwater drains and a moat in the fort. Thereafter, water flows into Nicholson channel before discharging into Palar river, off Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH-48).

Corporation officials said that the town has been witnessing good rainfall for the past several weeks since the 2021 floods. With the restoration by the civic body, the lake is able to store excess rainwater to its full storage capacity.

Of the total 24 borewells around the lake maintained by the Corporation, earlier, water was drawn only from 11 borewells due to low groundwater level. Rejuvenation of the lake has helped the civic body to draw water from most of the bore wells around the lake, officials said.

Currently, the total water demand of the civic body is 80 MLD per day. Household water consumption within Corporation limits is met by TWAD.

Two persons, including an 11-year-old girl, were killed in separate accidents on Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH-48) near Arcot town in Ranipet on Sunday.

Police said the deceased were identified as V. Harish, 27, a native of Krishnagiri, and E. Jersey, 11, a resident of Chennai. Initial inquiry revealed that the omni-bus from Chennai was proceeding towards Bengaluru with 22 passengers when the bus driver, Mohammed Sherif, 28, a native of Chennai, suddenly lost control of the vehicle and hit a trailer lorry, which was going ahead of the bus on the stretch. The incident occurred around 3.30 a.m.

The lorry had a consignment of long concrete poles to deliver at a godown in Hosur town in Krishnagiri from Kancheepuram. As the bus driver tried to take the service lane from the carriageway behind the lorry, he lost control of the bus and rammed into the lorry. In the impact, Harish was killed and 18 others including six women passengers and two children were injured.

Immediately, passersby and other motorists rescued the injured persons, who were admitted at Government Taluk Hospital in Arcot town. A case was registered by Arcot Town police.

In the second accident, along with his wife Mary, 39, and daughter Jersey, 11, a businessman Edin, 45, was driving his car from Bengaluru to Chennai when he lost control of the vehicle at Ammananthangal village near Walajah town in Ranipet on the stretch and hit a jeep, which was ahead of the car. The incident happened around 8.30 a.m. Injured persons were rescued and sent to a private hospital where doctors said that Jersey was brought dead. A case was registered by Walajah police.