Activists from the Federation of Civic Welfare Associations of Pallavaram and Senior Citizens Forum organised a day-long fast on Tuesday in protest against the lethargic attitude of government agencies in tackling rejuvenation work on Nemilichery lake, which was earlier being done by the citizens.
Activists at the venue said they wanted to urge the Public Works Department (PWD) to finish the pending tasks. The members also wanted to air their concerns to the government authorities. The volunteers had cleaned up three-fourths of the lake before the PWD took over. Subsequently, the agency agreed to desilt the waterbody and to dump the excavated garbage-laced sand at a quarry in Tiruneermalai, but failed to completely remove it from the shore.
“The welfare association wants the PWD to remove the remaining garbage piled on the shores of the lake. We voluntarily undertook cleaning works. “During the recent rains, the sand was washed away and around 25 per cent of the garbage is left on the shore itself,” said V. Santhanam, president of the Federation.
“The authorities should immediately stop sewerage drains that flow into the lake. They should start desilting immediately and complete it before the monsoon’s onset,” he added.
