C Sadagopan has a wish. He wants the bunds of the lake in his neighbourhood at Thiruvottiyur to be planted with trees and a pathway laid around it so that senior citizens like him can walk in the evenings in a comfortably green setting. There is nothing futuristic about this vision, as many lakes across Chennai have similar facilities. However, citizen involvement is still a sore point, even in those sterling initiatives. That is where citizens like Sadagopan fit in.
It was with this aim that representatives of various resident welfare associations in Thiruvottiyur were invited to the inauguration of the restoration programme of Ernavur lake recently.
FMCG conglomerate ITC and public charitable trust Hand in Hand India are spearheading a drive to restore five lakes in Thiruvottiyur, with the waterbody at Ernavur being the first in line. Of the 200 volunteers who participated in the event, a small number of them represented citizen groups.
As per the plan, Hand in Hand wants the community around to engage actively in the restoration so that a sense of ownership about the waterbody is developed among the people. Niranjan Patnaik, president of Kamaraj Nagar Welfare Association, represents another citizen group that has pledged support to the lake revival project.
“Although our work only begins once the project is completed and the authorities leave, we need to start forming a team and discuss ways in which we can contribute to the exercise,” says Niranjan.
He has interacted with volunteer groups associated with Kolathur and Villivakkam lakes and feels there are lessons to be learnt from them.
Sixty-year-old Sadagopan, who retired from the Police Department and now leads Netaji Nagar Welfare Association, says as many industries are located in the neighbourhood it is important to rope them in.
“We moved into the area more than four decades ago and although there have been attempts to clean the lake, these efforts lacked long-term focus,” says Sadagopan.
Study by IIT-Madras
Unruly vegetation and dumping of garbage have robbed this waterbody of its charm. The project called “Promoting Urban Water Resilience” was initiated after ITC took up a research with the help of IIT-Madras to understand the current status of tanks in Thiruvottiyur, which is part of Zone 1 of Greater Chennai Corporation.
Results of the report suggest that inappropriate drainage pattern, poor water storage, frequent flood occurrences, deteriorated water quality and sea water intrusion have affected both the surface and subsurface of certain waterbodies.
“This is going to be a long-term project where we will be taking up restoration and climate resilience exercises until March 23. We have to clean the water bodies so that there is no clogging in the network and water flows freely,” says Kalpana Sankar, managing trustee, Hand in Hand.
She says as in the previous initiatives, the community will have to play an important role. “We want the youth and the local people to own the place and ensure there are no encroachments. As a first step, we have taken them through the plan,” says Kalpana.
She says they are working to integrate different stakeholders and offer a platform where all voices would be heard.
