Source segregation is key to maintaining a clean neighbourhood. Residents of Medavakkam seem to know this quite well and to have realised how other neighbourhoods have been faring since they started segregation of biodegredable and non-bio-degredable waste. Apparently, some residents have made a request to the Chengalpattu District Collectorate to implement source segregation in their neighbourhood.
If implemented well, residents say, the water-bodies in the area will get better, as dumping of garbage there will end.
They also want an underground drainage system to be introduced in areas coming under the jurisdiction of the Medavakkam Village Panchayat. Currently, in the absence of these facilities, the three waterbodies — Medavakkam Chinna Eri, Periya Eri and Sitheri — are in a sorry state.
It is a common sight to see residents discharging sewage through stormwater drains in Medavakkam Chinna Eri, which should carry rainwater. Water tankers draw water through long pipes attached to a well.
The residents say a portion of the waterbody has been levelled for the tankers to enter the lake area and collect water.
A cricket practice net facility has come up on the lake area. The water-holding area in the waterbody is submerged under a profusion of water hyacinth.
The once-sprawling waterbodies are used as a dumping yard and an open toilet. The excess water from Medavakkam Chinna Eri flows to Periya Eri and to Sitheri from Periya Eri.
Steps should be taken to arrest discharge of sewage through stormwater drains into the southern side of Chinna Eri. The sluice gate at Periya Eri through which excess water is let out to Sitheri, is broken.
Earlier, drivers of water tankers supplying water in and around the IT Corridor used to draw water from Sithalapakkam - Ponmar Road lake. Due to copious rains during the north-east monsoon, the waterbodies got filled up.
