The Lower Palar Basin Division of the Water Resources Department has proposed a plan to construct a weir on the Sembakkam Lake.
If constructed, the dam will raise the level of water upstream or regulate its flow, which in turn will increase the ground water level and lake belt storage.
WRD officials said tenders for construction of the weir would be floated after a month and it would take two more months for the work to commence. Other plans include reconstruction of the lake outlet point, de-silting the lake and increasing the height of the lake bunds.
The works are expected to be carried out under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme at a cost of Rs. 30 lakh.
A 30- to 35-year-old brick structure, the lake outlet point was damaged in 2007 and 2009 by encroachers to ensure their huts would be safe even in the event of a increase in the water level at the lake.
To keep the encroachers at bay, the lake outlet point will be constructed with a concrete structure.
A rash of illegal houses have come up on the border area of the lake covering Hasthinapuram. Besides Hastinapuram, the borders of the lake cover Sembakkam and Chitlapakkam. Members of Sri Sarvamangala Nagar Residents Welfare Association, Chitlapakkam, said that they were happy over the WRD’s proposal to build a weir, and that they had been fighting for the lake’s survival since 1998, representing the issue to the authorities concerned.
Dumping of garbage
Another problem plaguing the Sembakkam lake is the dumping of garbage by the Municipality. Every day, on an average, around 8-10 tonnes of garbage are dumped in the lake. The Venkadamangalam solid waste management compost yard is nearing completion. Work on the yard is expected to be completed by May-June. Official sources said once the project was complete, the dumping would be stopped. Members have also drawn attention to the issue of illegal discharge of sewage , through stormwater drains, into Sembakkam Lake. Requesting the Pallavapuram municipality to prevent this practice, they have sought the construction of an underground drainage system. Official sources attached to the Sembakkam Municipality however said, “The municipality doesn’t discharge sewage into the Sembakkam Lake. Sewage from the areas within the jurisdiction of the municipality reaches the sewage treatment plant at Perungudi and gets treated for industrial use.”
