Long Tank – Lost Lake of Madras

The Long Tank was a boomerang-shaped lake, about 6 km in length from the southernmost tip of what was called the Mylapore Tank to the westernmost tip of the tank it flowed into, the Nungambakkam Tank. The Mylapore Tank stretch was one of the early venues (1870s-90s) of the Madras Boat Club.

Mambalam’s urbanisation started in 1911 when the government constructed a railway station there, as a stop on the Madras-Kanchipuram line. Until 1923, the Long Tank was considered the western limit of the city. In 1923, the Town Planners decided that growing Madras needed more land for housing and proposed the Mambalam Housing Scheme for whose 1600 acres it became necessary to breach the Long Tank and let its waters into the Adyar. The breaching was done in 1930, and the development of Theogaraya Nagar (T’Nagar) began. Then, in 1941, the ‘Lake Area’ was developed on part of the Nungambakkam Tank and was followed by 54 acres being given for the campus of Loyola College. The last vestiges of the tank were handed over, in 1974, for the Valluvar Kottam complex.

Source: S.Muthiah | The Hindu | Sriram.V |dsal.uchicago.edu

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-arts/chen-history-and-culture/Madras-Miscellany-The-Battle-of-the-Adyar/article15616870.ece

Rambling in West Mambalam … with Janaki Venkataraman

Madras Flood, 1943

Rains are lovely, refreshing and our vast agricultural community depends on it. But when rain takes a turn for cyclone. Not even the mighty madras stands a chance. Madras braved a rainy season like the one in 2015.
It was the October of 1943. An unrelenting downpour that lasted around six days led to breaches in tanks and canals and swollen lakes and rivers, and rendered thousands homeless and resulted in loss of lives and property.
The Cooum broke its embankments and gushed forth into alarming streams that plunged many areas — including Kilpauk, Purasaiwalkam, Perambur, Mount Road, Egmore, Chindatripet and Pudupet — into complete disarray. The Adyar river also swelled and overflowed, but the damage was restricted to the areas in its vicinity.
Slum dwellers around Madras and residents of working class localities — which included Choolai, Perambur, Kosapet, Kondithope and Chintadripet — bore the brunt of the flood fury. Their huts and tenements destroyed, they were sheltered in Corporation schools and Government buildings and marriage halls.
The Ripon Buildings overflowed with residents of Pudupet and Chintadripet. Residents of worst-hit neighbourhoods moved to the places — such as Mylapore, George Town, Royapuram and parts of Triplicane — where the floods did not wreak much havoc. Just like this time, the crisis brought people together. Citizens formed groups that fed the homeless. The Mayor’s Flood Relief Fund, instituted in the 1930s, was resurrected and opened for donations. The Council of the Madras Corporation transferred Rs. 50,000 from the general funds to this Fund. People from all walks of life pitched in. One of the amazing things about Madras and its people is their resilience. Hell or high waters, the city always gets back on its feet!

Source:The Hindu