A two-km stretch of the Buckingham Canal in north Chennai that had been completely clogged and had plenty of effluents now has clear water.
This follows the efforts of the Revenue Department, environmental activists and fishermen of the Ennore area to desilt various stretches of the canal, especially the point where it empties into the Ennore Creek.
“Each of the stakeholders have been asked to clean locations for which they are to be held responsible. As of today, the connection between the Buckingham Canal and the Creek has been re-established. We are happy that the livelihood of the fishermen, which was lost, has been restored. They say the prawns and fish are back in the stretch. We will continue with our efforts to clean up north Chennai and the Ennore Creek area even after the rains,” said K.Satyagopal, Commissioner for Revenue Administration.
Close to Ennore Creek, the length of Buckingham Canal to be cleared is 12 km, out of which 7.276 km has been cleared. On the creek, the entire 75 metres of the encroachment have been cleared. Similarly, on the Kosasthalaiyar all of the 60 metres of encroachments have been removed, he added.
R.L. Srinivasan, a fisherman of Kattupakkam in Ennore, who has been overseeing the work, said shrimp and prawns have been spotted in this stretch towards Ernavur, which had been badly affected by effluents since the mid 1980s. “The water seems to be better now, especially since sea water flushes it out during low tide,” he said.
Activist Nityanand Jayaraman suggested that the department may consider reinforcing the bunds by planting suitable species such as Vettiver or Palmyra. The community and city-based volunteers would be happy to contribute labour and time.
“The villagers are joyous, and credit for this must go to the district administration, and the Commissioner of Revenue Administration, who saw the wisdom in the recommendations of the fisherfolk and acted promptly,” he said.
Mr. Jayaraman also said that much remains to be done, but as a start this is commendable .
