Tambaram lakes face death by neglect

CHENNAI: The Perungalathur lake, once a vibrant expanse of water, is now staring at slow death. The lake is full of water hyacinth- a thick, undulating carpet that stretches as far as the eye can see. The sewage inflow into the lake gives life to this invasive species. Rampant encroachments along its banks have ensured that the lake is shrinking fast.The stench in the air is a reminder that repeated restoration efforts have not plugged the sewage inflow to the lake.
Perungalathur lake is not a one-off example of shoddy management. Water bodies in Thiruneermalai, Sembakkam, Narayanapuram, Pallavaram and Chitlapakkam have also not been restored by the water resources department (WRD) and Tambaram corporation. The triad of encroachments, sewage inflow and water hyacinth is killing these lakes.
In 2018, Care Earth Trust along with PWD and WRD restored lakes in Tambaram. The efforts, funded through corporate social responsibility, targeted only desilting and dredging of the lakes. However, the challenges extend beyond mere sediment removal. Seasonal variations and unregulated sewage inflow into water bodies hindered the restoration approach, said managing trustee of Care Earth Trust Jayshree Vencatesan.
The funding pattern of the projects also hindered the success of restoration projects. "We could monitor lakes till we had money. Once money stopped coming in, we could no longer work on restoration. This is why restoration projects fail," she said. With the monsoon season approaching, residents of southern suburbs want the corporation to restore these lakes for fear of floods. "Our area is always flooded when it rains, the lakes overflow and our homes are at risk," said Arun Kishore, a resident of Pammal. Saravanan K S, who has been living in Pallavaram for more than 25 years said, "A decade ago, our lakes were vast and beautiful. It's sad to see how our precious lakes are disappearing."
Despite efforts by the WRD in 2018 to curb encroachments, the problem persists. Jayshree said, "Encroachments reduce the water storage capacity of these lakes and aggravate flooding during monsoon." Land adjacent to these lakes have become prime real estate, driving people and developers to encroach upon them for construction purposes, said former commissioner of Pallavaram and director of municipal administration D S Sivasamy.
When a lot of money is pumped in, we expect results, but the state of our lakes tells us a different story," said Sivasamy. He said the corporation and civic bodies should take responsibility to restore lakes and not leave it to private companies alone. Tambaram corporation commissioner R Alagumeena said, "It is our priority to complete the underground drainage system across all wards.
We have spent a lot of money and the project is nearing completion in some wards." Jayshree said until the unregulated flow of sewage is addressed, attempts to restore these lakes will prove futile.