NGOs blame corpn for reducing water spread area of lakes in city

Coimbatore: Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have accused the city corporation of reducing the water spread area of lakes in the name of smart city works. They have demanded the corporation to take necessary steps to increase the water spread area, instead of creating recreational spaces along the waterbodies.

NGOs like Kovai Kulangal Padukaappu Amaipu, Siruthuli, Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore, CUBE, Arulagam and Osai have petitioned chief minister M K Stalin and other officials in this regard on Saturday.

Pointing out that smart city projects were being carried out at seven city lakes, the petition said the civic body was developing infrastructures along them for about 19.03km by reducing water spread area by at least 20 acres.

Speaking to TOI, R Manikandan, managing trustee, Kovai Kulangal Padukaapu Amaipu, said, “The corporation has evicted houses along the bunds of Valankulam, Muthanankulam and Selvampathy lakes based on a court order and retrieved about 39.14 acres land. If the civic body works to increase the water spread area in these lakes, we would be saving about 38 crore litres of water. But instead of restoring the waterbodies, the corporation has again encroached them by creating another infrastructure.”

The petition said the corporation had not deepened Krishnampathy tank to augment its capacity, which should have been the primary objective of any tank restoration project. “Sewage water continues to flow into the tank and the quality of water is bad. The growth of typha angustata in the tank has not been removed.”

In the case of Selvachinthamani tank, the petition said, the corporation should ideally have made efforts to plug the sewage inlets, but the same was not done. “The tank bund has been widened unnecessarily, reducing its storage capacity. Similarly, water storage capacity of all the other tanks has also been reduced by the corporation in the name of smart city works.”


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