Boating at Singanallur Tank still in troubled waters

The spruced up boat house at the Singanallur Tank is devoid of human activity. It has been so for quite some months now as there is no boating facility.

The Coimbatore Corporation had about a year ago spent close to Rs. 50 lakh to refurbish the boat house, develop a garden, remove water hyacinth and introduce boating facility. Of the sum, the Corporation spent close to Rs. 26 lakh only to remove the water weeds.

Now, the well-manicured lawn is the only indication of Corporation having spent the money, for the water weeds have started covering the water surface.

Sources in the Corporation say that the civic body will resume boating after the water level improves and this will happen around October-November when the North East Monsoon showers increase inflow into the Tank.

Even then the Corporation cannot introduce boating, contradicts former East Zone Chairman S.M. Samy. “As long as sewage keeps flowing into the water body, the weeds will continue to spread and the Corporation will not be in a position to introduce boating.”

If the Corporation had spent the money to install a sewage treatment plant, the Singanallur Tank and the residential localities around it would have been a far better locality.

Mayor P. Rajkumar says that after a trial run in March this year, the Corporation has called off the boating facility due to decrease in water level. Since then the civic body has been working on signing a MoU with the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu for water sports and also sending a proposal to set up a sewage treatment plant.

The Government’s approval is expected anytime soon. Once that arrives, the civic body will focus on having the STP first.