The Greater Chennai Corporation, as part of its flood-prevention project, has cleaned the waterbody located near Kallukuttai in Perungudi. The land, which turned into a waterbody, belongs to the Revenue Department.
The waterbody used to attract a large number of migratory birds because of its proximity to the Pallikaranai marshland. However, vested interests filled it up by dumping debris and tried to convert the land into house plots.
In addition to garbage, the waterbody was filled with wild grass and hyacinth.
Buffer zone
A senior official of the Perungudi zone of the Corporation said the waterbody had become a buffer zone for pumping out rainwater from Taramani and Velachery during the northeast monsoon. But due to poor maintenance, it was filled with garbage, debris and wild grass.
The civic body cleaned the waterbody by deploying an amphibian vehicle, and removed the vegetation and the garbage.
While social activists welcomed the initiative, they want the Revenue department to hand over the waterbody to the Corporation for better maintenance and protection.
Residents pointed out that the water spread located on the north side of the railway tracks could be converted into a water park on the lines of the Villivakkam tank, which is being restored by the civic body.
