Adyar River:
A Rs 1,500-crore project to rejuvenate and restore a ‘dead’ 44-km stretch of River Adyar is stuck since 2023 and lying choked in the city.
- The Adyar, originating near the Chembarambakkam Lake in Kanchipuram district, is one of the three rivers which winds through Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and joins the Bay of Bengal at the Adyar Estuary.
- The estuary, covering an area of about 300 acres, was made a protected wildlife reserve in 1987.
- The 42.5-kilometre (26.4 mi) long river contributes to the estuarine ecosystem of Chennai.
- The river forms a backwater near the mouth, known as the Adyar Creek, due to the formation of sandbars at the mouth.
- This creek is a natural channel which carries tidal water back into the sea.
- The river collects surplus water from about 200 tanks and lakes, small streams, and the rainwater drains in the Chennai city, with a combined catchment area of 860 sq.km.
- Most of the waste from the city is drained into this river.
