Members of Kilambakkam Eri Neerininaipayanpaduthuvoor Sangam submitted a petition to the Deputy District Collector, Kancheepuram, at the recent Jama Bandhi session, seeking that the ‘Kilambakkam Eri’ be restored and the broken weir in the lake be reconstructed.
M. Mohanan, president, Kilambakkam Eri Neerininaipayanpaduthuvoor Sangam, said, “The weir was damaged by encroachers, during the heavy rains of 2015. We immediately informed the PWD and Revenue Department about this. The next day, the PWD staff placed sand-bags at the broken weir to arrest the flow of water.”
“We sent a petition to the Executive Engineer, PWD in Kancheepuram, on October 23, 2016, seeking reconstruction of the weir, but no action was taken. During cyclone ‘Vardah’, the lake reached its full capacity and water flowed through the broken weir.” The members of Sangam had also sent a petition about the broken weir to the Kancheepuram District Collector, and the Executive Engineer, PWD, Kancheepuram, in March this year.
The total area of the waterbody is 90 acres; it has however shrunk to 30 acres, largely due to encroachments.
Presently, the water from the lake is also used for agriculture, in areas abutting its bunds.
Also, the members of the Sangam have sought de-silting and deepening of the sprawling waterbody and strengthening of its bunds. The waterbody was last de-silted in 1967.
Sewage discharge
Apart from this, the members have requested the Deputy Collector to take steps to arrest illegal discharge of sewage from residential apartments on Grand Southern Trunk Road.
We took up the issue with the residents in the apartments, and requested them to set up sewage treatment plants and stop this pracitce. But, no action has been taken so far, they said.
On March 17, 2017, the State Government announced a Rs.100-crore project to rejuvenate waterbodies in 30 districts. In Kancheepuram district, more than 40 waterbodies are being restored. The district is home to 9,000 waterbodies.
To include 'Kilambakkam Eri' in the project, the members wrote to the Kancheepuram Collector. They also sent a letter to the Executive Engineer, PWD, Kancheepuram, and Assistant Engineer, PWD, Chengalpattu, to promote fishing. But, no action in this connection has been taken so far.
