Check lake pollution
The Redhills lake that covers part of Oragadam under Corporation (Zone 7) needs the attention of Revenue and Water Resources Department officials.
There are illegally constructed buildings on a portion of the lake.
Besides this, a number of lorries and trucks are regularly washed and cleaned in the lake and this adds to pollution.
Another issue is that a conventional burial ground, which is functioning very close to the periphery of this lake, makes matters worse.
It is suggested that the burial ground be converted into an electric crematorium with a ban on burial in the crematorium.
K. Ramadoss,
Ayanavaram
Rain a nightmare
For residents of Balaji Avenue, Shanthi Avenue and surrounding areas of Chitlapakkam, the thought of rain has become a nightmare. Last week’s rain left many houses marooned because of breaching of lakes by miscreants. Before the residents could recover from the shock, rain water threatened to enter the houses after a mere two-hour rain in the small hours of Friday, November 20. The town panchayat is oblivious to problems faced by the residents of our locality, in spite of the fact that the chairman and a Minister reside nearby.
P. Swaminatha Krishna
Chitlapakkam
Testing time
While rain is desirable and necessary for living creatures, this year’s unusually heavy rain during Deepavali time and thereafter for a few days in Chennai and its suburbs has truly tested the efficiency of the civic body’s work and infrastructure developed for combating floods.
In many added areas of Chennai Corporation, almost all roads were properly re-laid and closed concrete stormwater drains were in place, constructed during the last two/ three years. Whenever the roads are re-laid, their height increases.
The concrete drains are constructed a bit higher than the road level and are closed with iron covers, thus reducing the motorable width of roads and hampering roadside parking also. The water is not freely passing to the drains through small side holes scarcely provided here and there. Though provision for rainwater harvesting is made on rooftops, the rain falling in open spaces remains stagnant without scope for flowing to drains or to roads since they are at higher levels.
Instead, the water is flowing to house compounds. The drains are also not periodically cleared or properly linked to waterbodies or lakes.
Many common wells used earlier for agriculture are closed.
The lakes and waterbodies have shrunk or vanished in many places due to encroachments. At least the remaining lakes and ponds have to be deepened. Civic bodies can also think about digging wider borewells filled with cobbles with proper covering at roads ends in residential areas where water stagnate, instead of trying to take all the water in one area to other low-lying places through concrete water drains.
Lake and riverbed occupiers can be relocated to enable deepening of the waterbodies and increase their capacity.
Sanalkumar K.P.
Adambakkam
Villivakkam travails
Various reasons may be given for stagnation of the water in Villivakkam; but I can state that one of the reasons, as the Corporation and the State government are very much aware, is encroachments. Railways closed down the nullah (gutter water passing area) which was connected to the Cooum river.
If the government is really interested in solving the stagnation problem, they should restore the nullah and curb the encroachments.
Our area is always a neglected one. Even after a week, the affected people are not able to return to our homes. The government should take effective steps.
Rajaraman
Villivakkam
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