Dumping yard for decade, pond in Tambaram gets lease of life

Waterbody set to be revived with desilting and other works

15/03/2013- CHENNAI/tAMILNADU/- A Tank on Thiruneearmali Road near West Tambaram being given a facelift by Tambaram Municipality. Photo: M_Srinath

A dense outgrowth of vegetation in a water body, while an eyesore, is a delight for miscreants.

With residents dumping refuse in it, the process of its gradual death is only speeded up. Not so in the case of the pond at Arputham Nagar along Tiruneermalai High Road, in Tambaram.

What was once an eyesore will soon become a bright, neat and a much sought-after landmark in Tambaram.

After a sum of Rs. 46 lakh was sanctioned in 2012, work on desilting the pond, strengthening its embankments, removing the dense vegetation around it, creating a pathway and installing safety railings had started towards the year-end, said S. Sivasubramanian, municipal commissioner.

All the rubble and garbage around the pond too were removed.

Like most small water bodies in the city’s immediate suburbs, the pond remained neglected for around a decade as a collection site for refuse of all forms, from homes, shops and construction sites.

“I have been a resident for more than two decades. Living closest to the pond, it was really pathetic to see it. The outgrowth of thorny bushes was the perfect cover for men to take refuge inside it after sunset,” said V. Perumal, a resident of Arputham Nagar.

Residents, including Mr. Perumal, had appealed to the municipality earlier to revive the water body, which, say residents, “was too precious” to them.

In 2012, the Tiruneermalai High Road, which for several years remained in a pathetic condition, was given a strong bitumen-topped surface. Soon after, Metropolitan Transport Corporation services were introduced between Tambaram and Poonamallee, via Tiruneermalai and Kunrathur.

“The sprucing of the pond has given the much needed facelift to the entire locality,” Mr. Perumal said.

Care had been taken to prevent sewage from draining into the pond — both from houses as well as from the contaminated Ranganathapuram (Kadaperi) lake, Mr. Sivasubramanian said.

Obstructions and filters too were in place to ensure only rain water enters the pond during monsoon.

Proposals were in place to spruce up a few more similar small water bodies in the rest of the municipality, including Adhi Nagar in East Tambaram, Mr. Sivasubramanian said.