The managers of Sri Kapali temple say that work will begin to repair a few chipped sections of the temple tank and that a few more bore wells will be sunk to raise water into the tank.
The tank is bone dry now following the extremely hot climate and the limited rains last season and many people are wondering how best the tank can be prepared to retain some water till the rains come again.
In a note sent to the media, executive officer Kaveri also states that since the bed of the tank holds clay and sand soil there is no need to dealt the tank now.
However, experts raise a few questions.
Sinking more bore wells leads to more water extraction and this will impact the groundwater level in this area.
Also, a large amount of silt is flushed into the tank by rainwater led to it from local drains and this silt is best removed when the tank is bone dry. They say that leveling the tank bed with clay many years ago in an attempt to retain water in this tank was not the right approach since this thwarted the recharge of groundwater naturally.
Says water management expert Sekar Raghavan of the Rain Centre, “Plans for temple tanks must be taken after consulting experts and based on scientific basis and not given in to emotional suggestions and ideas.”
