Yet another lake has been given a new life, thanks to the efforts of the Chennai-based Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI). Last week, the jubiliant team shared the story of the successful restoration Arasankazhani lake near Perumbakkam.
While early reports of EFI’s initiative had begun doing rounds in 2013, the job itself had started much earlier. Says EFI founder Arun Krishnamurthy, “The lake, which once was abandoned, saw residents from the neighbourhood approach EFI for reviving it. Upon receiving permission from the Government and with crowd-sourced resources, the lake was cleaned over several weekends. This was followed by a scientific restoration effort, which happened in two phases first in 2012 and then in 2014.”
Let's Clean up! Volunteers of EFI have launched a plan to rescue Chennai's waterbodies. Photo: Special arrangement
A lot has gone into each phase, and according to Krishnamurthy, there's always more work to be done. “We still continue to volunteer at the lake to keep it away from clutches of trash and more,” he says.
This work is in addition to the percolation trenches, bunds and roosting islands that EFI and local volunteers built in and around the lake over the years.
The construction helped filter waste and sewage flowing into the water body, and also provided space for the birds, reptiles and amphibians — that originally considered the lake their home — to thrive again.
Trenches help navigate flow of water in and out of the lake; inner and outer bunds (think tall-ish speed bump-like structures, made of earth, surrounding a water body) help keep solid waste out; and the g-shaped roosting islands are designed specifically to help the water enter and stay, creating a cleaner space for fish, birds and other natural habitants.
Work goes on
A lot of thought goes into these structures, and the planning behind them varies from lake to lake, explains Krishnamurthy. “Each water body is unique, ranging from its hydrology, geology, dependent demography and impending futuristic urban pressures. Taking several other parameters like these into account, a restoration plan is drawn for each lake. This includes engineering aspects, ecological aspects and socio-political aspects.”
Chennai;Tambaram: 29/06/2016:The sprawling Arasan Kazhani lake near Medavakkam is getting spruced by strengthening of its bunds,by NGO Environmentalist Foundation of India.Photo: G.Krishnaswamy.
Needless to say, the organisation has already started focussing on other water bodies, in addition to the continued volunteer work at Arasankazhani.
“We are scheduling a series of volunteering efforts under the tag 'For A Starter Volunteer for Water' and will be volunteering at lakes such as the Madambakkam Lake, Mudichur Seekana Lake, Kazhipattur Lake on OMR, Sholinganallur Lake, Nanmangalam Lake and six others,” says Krishnamurthy, “These lakes have a strong community volunteering element to them and are in need for focussed revival.”
And just like Arasankazhani, which he describes as “a fine model of collaborative conservation effort by the local residents, the government, the academics and nature enthusiasts,” the focus on these 11 will be as much on cleaning up the mess made in the past, as preparing for urban challenges of the future.
