Real discovery lies in the second look. Often, we don’t bring the so-called ‘familiar’ under that truth-baring second look. So, we can be extremely familiar with certain things but totally in the dark about their true nature. This is actually a confession. I have been a resident of the IT Corridor for eight years and I believe I know the lie of the land. In truth, much of it ‘remains hidden’ for me.
This realisation hit me like a thunderbolt recently, during a stroll in interior Sholinganallur. Along Puducherry Salai in Ponniamman Kovil, a locality in Sholinganallur cut off from the bustle of the IT industry, I chanced upon a waterbody — Puducherry Keni — marked by signs of a recent restoration exercise. It is one of 210 Greater Chennai Corporation-controlled waterbodies chosen for restoration as part of a smart cities project.
The waterbodies restoration project is being coordinated by Chennai City Connect (CCC) for Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL), a special purpose vehicle created for execution of smart city projects. CSCL has been looking for corporates to adopt these lakes and get them restored, with the help of voluntary organisations that have the technical expertise. Rotary Club of Madras adopted Pudducherrykeni and Care Earth came on board as the technical NGO. “Much of the waterbody was carpeted with water hyacinths. Around 180 tonnes of water hyacinths were removed using a floating excavator. This huge green mass had to be disposed of as waste, for want of awareness about what can be done with water hyacinths. In certain parts of the world, especially Thailand, water hyacinths are used in making furniture. If this technology catches on here, our waterbodies will be spared the bane of ‘hyacinth-spreads’,” says Balamurugan N., senior associate, CCC.
Another impressive restoration under this smart cities project has to do with a pond on the landward side of Injambakkam. “It is one of 20 ponds adopted by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Bala Vikasa, a voluntary organisation from Telangana, provided the technical expertise. This restoration witnessed great community participation,” says Balamurugan. “The sprawling Sholinganallur lake, which is under the control of the Public Works Department, is also being restored with Environmentalist Foundation of India as the technical NGO. The lake has been adopted by Ashok Leyland.”He points out there are many smaller waterbodies tucked away in the interior parts of the IT Corridor that can be brought under the exercise.
Corporates that want to get involved in the project may write to ceo@cscl.co.in
