It was more than a clean up drive at Madambakkam, a small town panchayat near Tambaram. Fans of actor Kamal Haasan, residents, local politicians, and media persons gathered in large numbers at the lake bed since morning to receive the actor, who planned to launch his ‘Swachch Bharat’ campaign on his 60 th birthday on Friday.
While launching the Clean India initiative by the All India Kamal Haasan Narpani Iyakkam members, the actor said the cleaning up drive would not stop with this programme. The Narpani Iyakkam has identified 25 other locations across the State, where water bodies would be cleaned by the members along with volunteers of the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI). These areas would be covered in the next three months.
Kamal Haasan appreciated the efforts of the EFI team involved in cleaning many lakes in the city.
He reiterated that his fans clubs, which were turned into Narpani Iyakkams several years ago, have stayed away from religion and politics and it has been a recognition for the good work done by them over the past three decades. Reiterating the responsibility of residents in keeping our environment clean, Kamal said, “If the movement catches up, it is sure the country would become known good governance.”
Ancient water body
The Madambakkam Lake in South Chennai is a vast and ancient water body. Once a significant water source for the dependent agricultural fields and a range of wild life, the lake has, over the years, been converted into an open dump for trash. The accumulation of tonnes of non-degradable and polluting garbage have a negative impact on the wild life and the lake ecosystem.
The EFI's volunteers started cleaning the lake in 2012 July. The entire expanse of the lake is being divided into parts and is being cleaned through community participation, along with support from the Madambakkam Town Panchayat.
“Since 2012, a total of 24 clean up programmes have been organised in the lake and 60 per cent of the garbage has been removed to date with the help of volunteers from EFI,” said Arun Krishnamoorthy of EFI. “Efforts will be made to work along with the government to scientifically restore the water body and large-scale community participation in this direction will be ensured,” he said.
BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan and party functionaries from the district participated in the inaugural session.
Earlier report: >Read here
