Environmentalists in the city have joined hands to plant saplings on Singanallur tank bed after miscreants damaged nearly 50 saplings that were planted and taken care of by the volunteers of Centre for Urban Biodiversity Conservation and Education (CUBE).
Representatives of CUBE said that 500 saplings will be planted on the lake bed with the support of environmental NGOs and various associations on Sunday.
It was on Friday afternoon, patches of trees grown along the lake bed were removed by a man who claims to have the contract to fish in the tank using excavator. His son allegedly threatened the volunteers. Vegetation on the side of the lake, which was announced as ‘Urban Biodiversity Conservation Zone’ by the Coimbatore Corporation in July 2016, were also set on fire by them.
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“The Corporation Commissioner has assured us of looking into various issues affecting the biodiversity of the lake. An assistant executive engineer of the civic body inspected the place on Saturday based on Commissioner’s direction. We have explained to the official about the damages caused and threats posing to the ecosystem,” said a volunteer of CUBE.
Since June 2016, the volunteers had planted more than 6,000 saplings of which nearly 600 were of palmyrah. They had also sown 2,000 palmyrah seeds on the lake bed.
According to the volunteers, the ecosystem of the lake and surrounding areas face threats such as encroachments, pollution, hunting, and fishing in excessive level. In December last year, volunteers had found snares laid on the lake bed and eight squirrels were caught using traps.
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“Migratory birds have started vanishing from the lake due to various illegal activities. Nearly two tonnes of fish are caught from the lake a day. Those engaged in fishing are also chasing migratory birds,” said the volunteer.
As many as 170 species of birds, including 40 migratory birds, were recorded at Singanallur lake between 2004 and 2016. Nature enthusiasts had also traced nesting of Indian Flapshell Turtle (Lissemys punctata), a freshwater turtle species, in the lake.
Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan said that he has directed Assistant Commissioner (East Zone) J. Ravikumar to look into the issue and asked volunteers to coordinate with the police.
CUBE is likely to file a complaint with the police seeking action against people who damaged the trees and allegedly intimidated its volunteers.