Veeranam Lake is located SSW in Cuddalore district in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. It is located from Lalpet and from Chennai, India. It is one of the water reservoirs from where water is supplied to Chennai city. The lake has a capacity to store about 1,465 mcft of water. Though the level in the Veeranam lake has dipped to 323 million cubic feet, the same amount of 180 mld was being drawn for city supply.
History
Veeranam Lake was built in the Tenth Century during the time of Greater Cholas, from 907–955 AD and is a long dam in northern Tamil Nadu. It was created by Rajaditya Chola. He named it after his father Parantaka I Chola, who had the title "Veeranarayanan". Veeranarayanapuram modified into Veeranam over time. Veeranam lake gets water from Kollidam via Vadavaru River. The lake remains dry for the major part of the year. Water released from the Mettur dam through Kollidam and Lower Anicut would also bring in sufficient inflow into the Veeranam Lake. The lake received sufficient inflow in April enabling supply to the city for three months. With heavy rain in Western Ghats, the lake almost got its storage capacity as it received inflow from the Cauvery tributaries Bhavani and Amaravathi.
The Veeranam Project
The Veeranam project, to supply water to Chennai, was conceived in 1967 by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C. N. Annadurai, and executed under his successor, M. Karunanidhi. The project's completion in 2004 by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J.Jayalalitha. It was impossible to use any water from the lake since it had run dry, and the face-saving proposal adopted by the authorities was to dig 45 deep borewells around the area and pump the resulting water to Chennai via the pipeline. The length of the lake is 14 km and this is the largest lake in Tamil Nadu. The credit goes to ancient people who have done this job with ordinary hand made tools.
In literature
The opening chapter of the book Ponniyin Selvan is set on the banks of the Veera Narayana Lake. Kalki gives an elaborate description of the features of the lake and the way multiple rivers flow into the lake. Kalki added Chola princess Kundavi used to come for refreshment at the banks of Veeranam lake during spring season. He also makes a reference to the fact, that Ramanujacharya decided on the number of 64 Peetas - 74 simhasanathipathigal based on the number of 74 openings in the lake.
