Three lakes in Chennai get new life
Chennai – After many years of negligence, the three lakes of the city in Porur, Ayanambakkam near Thiruverkadu and Nemam near Chembarambakkam will get new lease of life.
The cleaning work for rejuvenating the water bodies initiated few days back. Government gave the orders to increase water capacity a year ago but this project faced many hindrances like delay in tendering process.
The main aim of this project in Chennai is to strengthen the bund, desilt and deepen the water bodies by two metres. It will not only increase drinking water sources but will also recharge groundwater table in the localities of city. The cost of this project is Rs 130 crore and is expected to complete in 18 months.
Porur lake is the most dirty among the three. According to the residents, this lake is generally used as dumping yard and cesspool to release sewage. Despite the removal of the encroachments, there is threat of fresh encroachments. The residents want to speed up the process initiated by the Water Resource department (WRD) to protect the water bodies from more degradation.
Ayanambakkam and Nemam lake are exploited by the private water suppliers. Illegal soil mining is also very common there. Ayanambakkam lake is the main source of groundwater recharge for the residents of Ayanambakkam. Even they want WRD to expedite the process as several surrounding localities like Dinesh Nagar and New Century Nagar may again witness floods. The residents often used makeshift thermocol boats to commute during downpour.
Along with these three lakes, the Water Resource Department also proposed to increase the water capacity of the lake in Cholavaram. The water capacity of this water body in Cholavaram was increased by 600 million cubic feet (mcft) last year to meet the growing water needs of the city.
Currently, around the capacity of three major reservoirs in Chembarambakkam and Red Hills has been increased to 1,000 mcft. This augmentation will supply 810 million litres of water every day.
According to the WRD officials, the preliminary work at all three lakes was in progress. It included work of laying inspection track along the bund and stationing of equipment. The water department has proposed to fence off the lakes to protect them from further encroachments and misuse. He added that improvement of many channels will be carried out. They are also maintaining coordination with the revenue department, local bodies and the Chennai Corporation.
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Ayanambakkam lake, Chennai, Chennai Corporation, Cholavaram lake, Lakes in Chennai, Nemam lake, Porur lake, projects in chennai, Residents of Chennai, Water Resource Department, WRD
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