It’s been a year since volunteers of Lions Club of Tambaram Sanatorium and Tambaram Makkal Kuzhu, a youth organisation committed to protecting waterbodies and preventing arbitrary cutting of trees, started cleaning the Puthuthangal Eri, off Mudichur Road, in a phased manner.
Residents of Old State Bank Colony, Raj Mohan Nagar and Lakshmipuram Extension are also involved in the campaign. Last year, the team cleared thorny bushes and removed garbage from the lake using earthmovers.
In the second phase of the clean-up drive, the team hired a team of workers from Tiruvannamalai to remove water hyacinths from the lake. These works were carried out after obtaining necessary permission from the authorities of the Water Resources Department.
“After the removal of water hyacinths, the team would clear the vegetation on the bunds that have been formed on the sides of Raj Mohan Nagar and Lakshmipuram extension and plant native saplings, which the Forest Department has agreed to provide,” T.M. Raj, president, Lakshmipuram Extension Welfare Association (LEWA), says. According to residents, the waterbody was contaminated due to discharge of sewage from Mullai Nagar. They have demanded that bunds be formed on Mullai Nagar and Kannadapalayam sides of the lake. “Several representations to the Tambaram Municipality seeking that discharge of sewage be checked and an Underground Drainage System be constructed, have gone in vain. Steps must be taken to restore the lake, protect the flora and fauna there, construct a walkers’ pathway, a children’s play area and a park around the waterbody. Bird-watching, boating and fishing activities could be encouraged,” the residents added.
