Debris fills up 12-acre lake near Semmenchery

CHENNAI: A 12-acre huge waterbody near Semmencherry, that once was a rich source of groundwater, is shrinking by the day with loads of debris getting dumped here.
TOI visited this lake near the Panchayat Road in Semmenchery. There was debris on the banks, and in various parts of the lake.
A comparison of visuals of this waterbody from 2017 to 2023 in Google Earth showed how the dumping of debris has taken up almost 30% of the waterbody in the last four years.What looked like water spread in 2017, was brown-grey dry land in 2023, while half of it still holds water. It is in these spots where debris is dumped.
S M Nirmal Kumar of Pasumai Thayagam, an environmental NGO, said the violators are just land-grabbers who want to occupy the lake. "It is a big violation and they are taking up the lake slowly. You cannot dump debris all at once. So, they are gradually doing it. Natives, and those buying houses from outside, live here. What will we do if such water bodies are destroyed?," asked Nirmal Kumar, a local resident there.
He added that the corporation should inspect the lake and identify those dumping it and book cases against them. Sreedhar, another resident of a TNHB flat in the vicinity, said the debris dumping was going on for a while, and these will be sold as plots later. "If such activities are allowed, the area will start flooding," he said.
TOI also saw that storm water drains from housing board flats nearby are let into this lake. This means, with lesser capacity, the waterbody could overflow when it rains, and inundate the areas.
Ward 199 councillor K Shankar said he already inspected the spot based on complaints by residents. "There seems to be patta lands on the banks of the lake and it is unclear whether these people are demarcating their boundaries by dumping debris. We will get it checked," he said.