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.

A one-year-old girl was run over by a private school van at Chettikuppam village near Gudiyatham town in Vellore on Wednesday.

Police said that the deceased was identified as M. Durgasri, daughter of K. Mohan, a mason, and M. Lalitha. An initial inquiry revealed that the girl was playing outside her house near the carriageway of the stretch while her parents were busy with domestic chores inside the house. Unaware that she was playing near the carriageway, the school van ran over her.

As passersby and other motorists rushed to the spot, the van driver abandoned the school van with students and fled the spot. Based on an alert, Gudiyatham Taluk police inspected the spot. The body was sent to Government Taluk Hospital in Gudiyatham for a postmortem. A case was registered and further probe is under way.

The Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Christian Medical College (CMC) organised a cookery competition at Darling Residency that comes within Vellore Corporation limits to commemorate World Diabetes Day 2025.

According to a press release, the theme of the competition is ‘Dinner – Conquering the Night Cravings – Creating a Healthy Diabetes-Friendly inner’, as nutrition and diet play a crucial role in the prevention and management of diabetes and it is important to eat balanced portions of wholesome home-cooked meals, in a timely manner.

The competition was presided by Khushboo Agarwal, assistant professor, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, CMC. Welcoming the gathering, Ms. Agarwal said that the importance of inculcating healthy habits right from childhood is required. Cooking is an essential life skill which should be included in school curriculum, she said.

Lallu Joseph, Associate General Superintendent, CMC (Ranipet campus), who was the chief guest, emphasized prioritizing healthy food over expensive jewelry. The panel of judges included Jabin Khaja, professor, Medical Surgical Nursing, CMC, Sharon Gikku George, physiotherapist, CMC and Sandhiya, dietician, CMC.

The first prize was awarded to Shrisha and Bhavadharani, DKM College of Women (Vellore) for their delicious veg millet fenugreek soup, sprouted chana waffle and millet ravioli with hummus. The second runners-up were Anitha and Karthiga, CMC (Vellore), for mixed millet kuzhi paniyaram, ragi dosa and bottle gourd poriyal. The third prize was won by Gayathri and Gladis Jerusha, staff nurses (CMC) for ragi adai and tulsi and amla health drink. Consolation prizes were also awarded, the release said.

Amid growing resentment among residents and motorists on battered stretches where pipelines were laid for on-going ₹ 1,000 crore Underground Drainage (UGD) work under Smart Cities Mission but not have been re-laid since then, Vellore Corporation has said that 92 per cent of new drainage work has been completed, paving way for re-laying of damaged stretches in coming weeks.

Corporation Commissioner R. Lakshmanan told The Hindu that completion of ongoing pipeline-carrying bridge across Palar river, pipe-laying work in at least five streets in Old Town area, and construction of a new pumping station at Vasanthapuram behind the fort complex are remaining works as part of the UGD system. “Key stretches are being re-laid after milling. The new UGD system will be ready for operation from January 2026 when the Corporation will begin providing household connections to consumers,” he said.

Corporation officials said that the pipe-carrying bridge, which is 650 metres long, along Palar river, which is maintained by WRD, will carry household sewerage from 32 wards, mostly from Old Town areas to the newly built STP at Viruthampattu near Katpadi. The bridge is being built at a height of 20 feet from riverbed to prevent inundation during monsoon. The new STP has a capacity of 50MLD.

The multi-crore project, which was rolled out in 2019 especially from its phase – II work onwards, comprises main sewer lines, pumping and lifting stations, and sewage treatment plants, covering all 60 wards that has around eight lakh residents within civic body limits.

Divided into four phases, the project covers 750 kms of sewer lines, 16 pumping and lifting stations and two large STPs. Tricky spots like 32 kms on the service lane of Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH 48), 16 railway crossing spots, State Highway stretches (7 kms) have been completed. “The civic body has roughly levelled the damaged portion of Old Bangalore Road near Green Circle after pipeline work. Motorists have been risking themselves in using the stretch especially during night due to its unevenness,” said K. Gomathi, a motorist.

Reacting to damaged roads, Mr. Lakshmanan said that pipelines between Green Circle junction and National Theatre, a distance of around 750 metres, on Old Bangalore Road, were laid between 11 p.m and 3 a.m to prevent traffic snarls. A No Objection Certificate (NOC) will be issued to State Highways to re-lay the damaged stretch in 10 days as a few interlinking works are under way.

Corporation officials said that, at present, the civic body has around 81,000 connections within its limits. Once drainage work is completed, consumers will be asked to get individual house connections in January. By then, most of the damaged stretches will be re-laid. Currently, arterial stretches like Anna Road and Arcot Road near CMC are being re-laid after milling.