On Saturday, foul-smelling water entered the Mahamagam Tank in Kumbakonam. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
A small amount of black water entered the Mahamagam reservoir in Kumbakonam through the Arasalaru water inlet channel on Saturday.
Inquiries reveal that passers-by were taken aback when they noticed black smelly water entering the sacred tank in Kumbakonam around noon on March 14 and some of them captured the water mixing with the water in the tank and creating foam on their mobile phones.
Once they posted the videos on social media, it went viral and attracted the attention of officials from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department as well as the Water Resources Department, which pumps fresh water into the tank from nearby Arasalar.
Subsequently, the officials reached the reservoir and alerted the Kumbakonam Corporation to stop pumping sewage through the underground sewer line near the reservoir.
When Kumbakonam MLA G. Anbalagan came to know about the development, he inspected the tank. After discussion with the officials, the MLA said that the black water that entered through the Arasalar inlet channel was nothing but water that had “accumulated and remained unpumped for a long time” at the Arasalar end.
When the flow of water through the 300-meter inlet canal was restored after a short time, the debris that had settled at the bottom of the canal was first pushed to the bottom of the tank along with the “accumulated unpumped water”.
Steps have been taken to spray disinfectants so that safe water is available in the tank ahead of the Sri Aadhikumbeswarar temple float festival to be held in the tank during the first week of April, he added.
Published – 14 March 2026 21:00 IST
