The Water Resources Department (WRD) is carrying out work to remove water hyacinth and silt that has been deposited for several decades in the Madhavaram lake, which is popularly known as Retteri lake. Sprawling over 400 acres, the lake continues to be a haven for birds and is also a reliable groundwater resource.
Efforts are also on to remove shops abutting the lake in the Retteri junction and also create some portions of the bund. “We have removed 1.48 lakh cubic metre of silt from the lake bed in the past couple of weeks and moved it to the Kodungaiyur dumping yard,” said a WRD official.
Once the work to strengthen the 3-km-long bund is completed, a walkers’ path would be built on the bund. “We are also in the process of preventing illegal release of sewage into the water body. Once the eco-restoration project is completed, residents of surrounding areas such as Vinayagapuram and Kathirvedu will enjoy better groundwater resources,” said an official.
Residents of north Chennai will soon have another recreational space as work is on to create mud flats in the middle of the lake. While these works are expected to be completed in two months as part of the first phase, the State government recently sanctioned Rs. 65 crore for the second phase.
In the next phase, the department will provide boating arrangements, a children’s play area and park.
