Activists and nature enthusiasts are worried as a portion of the Pallikaranai marshland, inside Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) in Sholinganallur, has slowly started to disappear due to encroachment by some firms.
The portion of the land, adjoining the marshland, was given to ELCOT a decade ago for construction of IT companies. “However slowly some firms started encroaching the water bodies inside the campus by dumping construction debris. Some portions of the wetland have disappeared already,” said Seshan Ezhumalai, a 72-year old member of Environmental Monitoring Administration Investigation (EMAI), who has been fighting to conserve nature for many years.
He said that the water body was a breeding ground for ducks and other water birds. “Until a year ago I spotted flamingoes, varieties of ducks, purple moorhen and other winged friends. There were a lot of ducks in adjoining areas and now everything has come to the water bodies in ELCOT. It was a beautiful place to visit,” T. Murugavel, another member of EMAI.
However, over the past one year, some firms have started encroaching it. “We have to stop this. I will approach the Madras High Court to stop the encroachment and conserve the water bodies. Lot of water bodies, including many in North Chennai, have been encroached. This will lead to dip in water level and biodiversity will be disturbed. During monsoon, it will lead to flooding,” added Ms. Seshan.
He also pointed out that the numbers of birds visiting Pallikaranai marshland has reduced drastically this year. “From October to May, there used to be many birds. This time we dont see many of them,” he lamented.
Sources from the Forest department said that the area comes under the control of ELCOT. “We do nab those who hunt birds and go fishing inside the premises, but we are not able to do it officially. We have been asking them to hand over the water bodies to us, but nothing has happened,” said an official.
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