Coimbatore Corporation is clearing water hyacinth that has spread over the Singanallur Tank. At the same time, repair and maintenance work is going on in full swing at the boathouse and the small park attached to it, as the Corporation is planning for a rowing and kayaking demo there with the Tamil Nadu Rowing Association, in the first week of January.
As part of the renovation work, the Corporation is building a room to store the boats at one end of the park.
Pruning branches, replacing tiles, providing more space for green cover, replacing the damaged metal railings on the ramp in the jetty and replacing the damaged roof with metal sheets are the other works underway at the boat house that remained locked for the last few years.
The contractor who has taken up the civil renovation work with a team of 15 persons has been asked to complete the work by December 29. This would be followed by gardening work.
S. Savithri (48) and her husband Selvaraj have a small shop outside the boat house. They had a shop selling snacks in the boathouse, when it began operating about 12 years ago. The couple said that there were up to 20 row and pedalling boats.
“It was one of the major attractions for the people of the city,” Savithri said and added that they made Rs. 15,000 during the weekends.
She recalled that students accounted for a major share of persons thronging the boathouse. Years after the boathouse became defunct, the couple has not moved the small shop from near the boathouse – despite poor business – with hope that it would once again be buzzing with activity.
Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan said that the tank is only about 20 to 25 feet deep. Due this reason the Corporation has not planned to introduce motor boats as it could disturb the thick deposit of wastes that have got accumulated at the bottom, over the years.
The Commissioner said that this would affect life in the tank and also damage motors in the boat. In the first phase they have planned to rent three or four row boats.
“Based on response, the number of boats could be increased in a phased manner,” he said and added that the Sports Development Authority of Tamilnadu and Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation will keep the boathouse functional.