Know Your Lakes

India is a rain fed country which is completely dependent on its four months of monsoon to survive the whole year, different parts of the country get washed with rain at different times. The journey in tracking India’s monsoon begins with the Southwest Monsoon and ends with the Northeast cyclones. The country’s rivers, lakes, ponds and oceans are fed by troughs and rains.

The nation’s populations on 1.3 billion depend on these lakes and rivers for survival. However, with increasing greed for land and sand mining many of India’s rivers and lakes exist only on maps today. Nature takes years to alter topography, but corrupt practices with heavy machinery changes the course of the river in no time. The long term impact of the same is still not understood by the common man who is voiceless and helpless.

Today, there is a water war within the country between the states, soon this will become an international affair. The fact that we are always dependent on external sources for water is worrying, if we started conserving and protecting our own water soon there will be no need to seek alms elsewhere.

For the sake of industrialization, various water bodies have been dried up and converted into economic zones. What we don’t understand is that, we are very dependent on nature for every single aspect of our living. Unless we do not show are for Mother Nature, we cannot continue reaping benefits from her. Studies show that nowadays industries consume more water compared to farmers, who are majorly dependent on these water bodies. Most ‘indusry experts’ fail to understand this, and believe that money is the solution to all problems. Slowly, we are depleting our existing water resources, and soon we’ll be leaving in a dry land thirsty and poorer than we are today.

Water bodies aren’t a magic pot that keeping giving us unlimited supply of water, which we greedily use to destroy it. We have to understand the importance of conserving it. It’s now or never. We have to focus on inclusive and sustainable development programs, to save these resources. Water as a resource is for all life forms to share, just because we can walk straight and talk loud it gives us no authority to control all of nature’s resources.

We at Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) organize and execute effective lake cleanup programs in India. Under this program the organization adopts a beach, lake or any water body on a voluntary basis. The water body or beach with its periphery are cleaned, strengthened & restored to its original capacity & beauty. The cleaning process involves a massive removal of physical garbage from the premises. This is followed by scientific lab testing of the water samples repeatedly to check the contaminants and pollutant levels. Post scientific study, the lake bed is de-silted and the silt is deposited on the bunds and a major bund strengthening program follows soon. The leveled bund is now planted with native species saplings which offer extra support to the bund. A small wetland is created towards one corner of the lake to filter out the incoming waste. These wetlands act as the substrate filters, plants like water hyacinths are grown under supervision in this part of the lake alone to ensure filtration. For the beaches repeated nature walks and awareness drives are organized to ensure cleaner environments. If you are worried about a beach, lake, pond or river in your neighborhood, we together can restore the lake to its true natural beauty.

Here we will be discussing about various lakes of India and how to maintain them.

The list of lakes are as follows;

Chennai:
·         Keezhkattalai
·         Narayanapuram
·         Nanmangalam
·         Perumbakkam
·         Arasankazhani
·         Madambakkam
·         Irimbuliyur
·         Mudichur

Hyderabad:
·         Kapra
·         Hafeezpet
·         Gurunadham Cheruvu
·         Alwal

Coimbatore:
·         Selvachintamani Kulam
·         Kurichi
·         Ukkadam
·         Perur

Others:
·         Mariamman koil lake- Tanjore
·         Retteri- Pondicherry
·         Chattrareddiarpatti- Virudunagar

Arasankazhani Lake

Source: The Hindu

The Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) has restored the north-western part of the Arasankazhani Lake found near the Chemmanchery-Perumbakkam region.

Arasankzhani Lake the natural habitat for birds, amphibians and reptiles was covered with weeds and silt deposits, reducing the size of the water body.

“We regularly de-silted the lake to increase the water holding area and created G-shaped islands (scientific restoration) for the water to enter in. The islands will be a safe place for pond turtles, birds and fishes.”- EFI

As a result, thirteen species of birds, three amphibian species and four species of reptiles got their habitat back in the most natural and scientific way.

“We are planning an extensive public awareness campaign to sensitise the locals and increase their participation in conservation efforts.

Residents of Bollineni Hillside Township (BHT), near the Arasankzhani Lake, have actively participated in the EFI Lake Clean Up project.

They also extended financial support to the restoration work that began in mid-October. The effort was helped by the co-operation of the Public Works Department.”

Native saplings were planted by EFI along the lake to create a small forest area.

Next, EFI will restore the south-western side of the lake.

V. D. Babu, a resident of BHT, said:

“When I moved here a couple of years ago, the lake was filled with sand and silt.

The water body was home to native tree species and birds. Unfortunately, the local authorities earmarked a burial ground in the middle of the lake, reducing the lake area.

The residents felt the need to restore and preserve the lake. We approached EFI for the same.

They agreed to take it up.”

EFI members cleaning up the Arasankazhani Lake:

 

The G-Shaped Island created by EFI at the Arasankazhani Lake after the EFI Lake clean up and the scientific restoration

Narayanapuram Lake

Source: The Times Of India

'Chennai: Sixty-two-year-old Chellamma of Kovilambakkam remembers a time when she fetched water from the Narayanapuram lake for herself and her family to drink. Now she only uses it to wash clothes as the pollution levels have risen sharply in the last few years.

Located on both sides of the 200-ft Chromepet-Thoraipakkam radial road, the 15-acre lake is one of the oldest waterbodies in the suburbs. However, due to mindless construction activity and encroachments for housing, there is little space for this centuries-old water body to thrive. Adding to the pollution is the fact that people wash clothes and clean lorries in the lake.

"Earlier, the lake was the main source of water for thousands of residents of Kovilambakkam and Pallikaranai panchayats. However, during the last 10 years, we have not been able to use the water for drinking due to the rising levels of pollution. Residents use the waterbodies to wash clothes and drivers come and clean lorries and private buses ," says a long-time dweller in the area, Senmon. The residents are now dependent on the wells maintained by the local panchayats. Every day several dozen sand lorries, water carriers and private buses that operate for software companies along the IT corridor are parked on either side of the nearly 15-km stretch. The drivers use the water from the Narayanapuram lake to clean their vehicles . They often empty waste oil into the lake while cleaning their vehicles. Further, garbage dumped by the local bodies also contaminates the water. As a result, the lake has became unusable even for washing purposes. Residents who do not have wells in their houses have no choice but to come to the lake to wash clothes.

More than 1,000 households in Balaji Nagar and Narayanapuram in Pallikaranai village panchayat, and Vinayakapuram , Vunmai Nagar, Vidya Nagar , LIC Colony and Satya Nagar in Kovilambakkam village panchayat use the lake for washing everyday.

A few acres of the lake fall under the control of the local body in Kovilambakkam, while the rest falls within the limits of the Pallikaranai village panchayat.

Apart from being a lifeline for residents, the lake is also the main source of water for the public well maintained by the Kovilambakkam panchayat . The well, which is located near the bund of the lake, is the main source of drinking water for thousands of residents. However, due to contamination of the waterbody , residents fear the well might also get polluted.

A few years ago, within the St Thomas Mount union block, the public works department identified 21 waterbodies, including the Narayanapuram lake, for cleaning and maintenance.”

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Narayanapuram+Lake,+Chennai,+Tamil+Nadu/@12.9460495,80.2022231,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x3a525dccf145e01d:0x99ad0138ca3ed466

EFI has taken steps to clean up the lake. All the garbage were removed to make the lake useable not only for human beings but mainly for pond turtles, birds, fishes, frogs.

Perumbakkam Lake

The Perumbakkam lake spreads over 200 acres (0.81 km2) and is a vital source of water to residents and farmers in Perumbakkam, Vengaivaasal and Sithalapakkam villages. Nearly 100 families raise vegetables and other crops whenever water is available in the lake.

Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) volunteers have cleaned up the lake so that the lake maintains its flora and fauna.

http://wikimapia.org/611838/LAKE-PERUMBAKKAM

Nanmangalam Lake

Source: Times of India

CHENNAI: Since last year, R Selvakumar has stopped taking water from the Nanmangalam Lake and has been irrigating his farm with well water. Reason: the water in the lake has become unfit for use, thanks to the indiscriminate discharge of waste from a nearby complex of 300 independent houses.

The complex, which came up three years ago in Jayendra Nagar of Sembakkam, has a sewage treatment plant where waste water from all the houses is collected. While the treated water is used for gardening, the untreated portion is let out into the lake. Ironically, a signboard in front of the lake (facing the complex) warns that action would be initiated under the Lakes Protection and Removal of Encroachments Enforcement Act 2007 against the dumping of garbage and discharge of contaminated water and other effluents into the lake.

Nanmangalam, one of the important panchayats in the southern suburbs where farming is still the main occupation, has more than 700 active farmers with 500 acres of farmland. These people, most of them marginal farmers, now either depend on farm wells or wait till the monsoon sets in.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Lake-in-Nanmangalam-used-as-sewage-dump/articleshow/4656342.cms

Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) has taken up the lake for cleanup. So that it becomes a habitat for frogs, plants, snakes, fishes and birds.

Mudichur Lake

Mudichur Lake is a beautiful lake which banks in the north side of Tambaram. It has plenty of trees and paddy fields. During the season time a small flock of migrated birds come in the morning for their feeds
.

http://wikimapia.org/5067239/Mudichur-Lake

Perur Lake

The Perur lake site is an important bird rooting site. A good number of pelicans, painted stork, open-bill stork, pond herons, egrets, white-breasted water hens, purple moore hens, darters, cormorants, kingfishers, grebes, spot-billed ducks and coots are found. A detailed study of the trees, plants, birds, fishes, insects, amphibians, reptiles, etc. has to be done.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Perur+Lake,+Coimbatore,+Tamil+Nadu/@10.969342,76.928316,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x3ba859564370759f:0x2b6d5704a47843d3?hl=en-US

Ukkadam Lake

The Coimbatore big lake also known as the Ukkadam Lake is situated near the Ukkadam bus-stand, north of the River Noyyal.

The lake is being fed by the Coimbatore anicut channel on the Noyyal River. The lake also receives surplus water from the Selvachinthamani Lake located in the upstream (north-west).

The lake is provided with the outlet connection to feed the Valankulam lake, which is located east side of the lake. It has a surplus weir arrangement of about 25.8 m situated towards the south side of the lake, which is a masonry weir with side walls and solid apron.

This tank has a huge encroachment on the boundary area. There is a big taxi stand on the tank bund in north-eastern corner. Farmers cultivate green leafy vegetables with the drainage water inside the water spread area. All kinds of wastes are dumped on the tank bund and near the tanks. There are 300 pucca/thatched houses located at the toe of the bund on southern side of the tank. The approximate area under the encroachment is around 10 acres.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Periya+Kulam,+Coimbatore,+Tamil+Nadu+641008/@10.981549,76.95424,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x3ba85971d12fc77b:0x3e1418d0f2a1e4c1?hl=en-US

SelvaChintamani Kulam

This lake is located in the city of Coimbatore on north side of Perur road and east of Selvapuram. It receives surplus water from the Kumaraswamy Lake. It is a smaller lake compared to other lakes in the city.

Source: Times of India

"COIMBATORE: The Selvachinthamani Lake in Selvapuram in the city will be the first urban water body to be spruced up with the city municipal corporation deciding to spend Rs 2 crore to construct a fence around the lake and install a decentralized water treatment unit at the main inlet into the lake.

The unit will ensure that water draining into the lake is free from sewage and other contaminants. The main objective of the move is to ensure pollution-free urban water bodies which could be used to recharge ground water in the region.

"We will start with Selvachinthamani Lake. The project will be financed with the general funds of the corporation. The plan is to install a decentralized water treatment plant at the main inlet into the tank on its north western side," said S Sivarasu, deputy commissioner, Coimbatore Municipal Corporation.

The corporation chose this lake as it is the smallest among the eight lakes under its control. spread across 26 acres, the Selvachinthamani Lake has a single main water inlet channel. The proposed plan is to fence the bund along the entire circumference of the lake and also take up beautification work around the water body.

The corporation is trying to get funding assistance from the Chennai River Restoration Trust (CRRT) for carrying out rejuvenation work for seven water bodies apart from getting central assistance from National Lake Conservation Policy (NLCP) of the union ministry of environment and forests. "We have also roped in a private voluntary group to conduct desilting of Selvchinthamani lake as part o the rejuvenation drive," Sivarasu added.

The corporation had carried out a community cleaning drive at Selvachinthamani lake about a fortnight ago in which the entire lake bund and open premises around it was cleaned and plastic was removed. Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) is expected to carry out the conservation work at the lake in the coming days."

After the cleanup and scientific restoration by EFI volunteers 

Selvachinthamani kulam

 

Hafeezpet Lake

Hafeezpet Lake

This is where the Hafeezpet Lake is located

https://www.google.co.in/maps/@17.4904472,78.3608205,711m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-IN

 

Gurunadham Cheruvu

 What prompted you to establish the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI)?

I started EFI eight years ago while I was still in college, roping in a few like-minded friends to volunteer at Vandalur zoo. When I began working at Google in Hyderabad, I saw that Gurunadham Cheruvu, a lake in Miyapur about 8km from our office , was very dirty. So I approached people staying in nearby apartments as well as school students. On May 30, 2008, around 117 of us cleaned it up. Later on, whenever there was a tree cut down, or an injured animal, they began contacting us for help. It instilled a sense of responsibility in us and I decided to become a full-time environmentalist. I finally registered EFI in June 2012. – Arun Krishnamurthy (Founder of EFI)

Article about EFI's Gurunadham Cheruvu Lake clean up

Alwal Lake

Alwal lake is located in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It has derived its name from its own city as it meanders through the Alwal region of Hyderabad. Today it has become a popular tourist attraction.

Alwal lake is popularly known for its inspiring beauty. This place has gained a lot of popularity as a place for picnics. Families come here from far and wide areas to enjoy and have a wonderful time. During vacations, people come here in large numbers. This lake also enjoys a religious significance on an prominent occasion like Ganesh Chathurthi, the idols of lord Ganesha are immersed with much fanfare and enthusiasm.

This lake has now become a lake of crisis in Alwal. It produces foul smell due to which it has become more a garbage bin lake, it needs to be maintained.

EFI has taken steps to clean up the lake.

Kapra Lake

The locals of the serene Kapra Lake have often been hotspots for shooting movies. The evergreen movie ‘Dhaana Veera Sura Karna’ starring NT Rama Rao was filmed at this lake and its vicinity. Over the last decade or so, the water body has been showered by high rises, as it’s a perfect residential address - quiet, calm, clean and luxurious.  But amidst this sea of tranquility, the lake now stands out as a sore thumb.

The Kapra Lake has 13 different species of birds and 17 species of aquatic life . It was originally 65 acres in size, and now has shrunk considerably due to encroachments over the last 10 - 15 years.

Encroachment has now cast its ugly shadow over the lake. Many illegal houses have also been constructed with the connivance of local leaders and their muscle power.This is taking a heavy toll on this lake. With garbage strewn around and the pungent smell of decaying waste, it’s no wonder that the lake has been branded as highly polluted.

Almost 400 students from different schools joined hands with the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) to clean up the Kapra  lake. They cleared about 9.4 tons of garbage from the lake. Most of the students, who participated in the program, are Class XI and XII students.

A view prior to clean up:

Process of cleaning up the lake

Keezhkattalai Lake

A few kilometers south of the Chennai airport, off the busy trunk road on a much peaceful radial road the Keezhkattalai Lake was hardly known to even the residents of the sprawling city.The once sprawling Keezhka­t­talai lake is now re­du­ced to a piece of land sandwiched between encroachments.

The lake with pristine bio diversity supporting aquatic life and migratory birds has lost its she­en owing to pollution and unchecked dumping of sa­nd eating into its catchme­nt areas. Suddenly, the world takes focus of this lake and Chennai is all geared up to Clean and Restore the Keezhkattalai Lake and present it as a prototype for other water bodies in the country to be restored.

Keeazhkattalai lake serves as the lake that feeds the Pallikaranai marsh and, it is one of the largest water bodies in the state.

The Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) decided to clean the Keezhkattalai Lake (KZ), However, it was noticed that if restored to its fullest capacity and left to wilderness, Keezhkattalai lake will become the ideal biodiversity hot spot within this urban nerve center. 

This was how the lake was looking before the cleanup by EFI volunteers.

This is how the work of cleaning the lake happens. The volunteers of EFI did a wonderful job in cleaning the lake.

Post the cleaning work done by the EFI volunteers this is how the lake looks.

Madambakkam Lake

Madambakkam Lake in Chennai had once been the main water source for the people in the surrounding, but now it is losing its fame due to increasing garbage dumps. There had been a lots of encroachments and dumping of wastesnear the lake leading it shrink in size. Residents of Madambakkam have also been complaining about the bad stench and hygiene issue in the area. Even the local panchayats have failed to look into the matter and creating it more worse. Due to which, the ground water table has been decreasing at an alarming rate.

Instead of waiting for the government to solve environment-related issues,  members of Environmentalist Foundation of India EFI have taken it upon themselves to save the Madambakkam Lake. A portion of the lake near Tambaram, which has been doubling as a dump-yard, was cleaned by volunteers of EFI.

As part of the lake-restoration project, a sample of water from the lake is collected and tested to determine the level of contamination. Then, the lake bed is de-silted and the silt is deposited on the bunds and levelled. To strengthen the bund, native species of plant and tree saplings are planted. Students of Class VII to XII have been major contributors in the lake clean-up operations in  Madambakkam lake.

Before clean up

EFI Volunteers take charge in cleaning up the lake

Kurichi Lake

The Kurichi lake, was the main water source of the south Coimbatore and the ground water level in the surrounding areas of about 30 kms used to be stable at the time of its full capacity.

Kurichi Lake is Largest Lake in Coimbatore District, in which Bunds of this lake is 6K.M. Many Residence use the Bund of Kurichi Lake as Walking zone during Morning & Evening.

Kurichi lake is surrounded by Attupalam-Palghat road o the North, Pollachi road on the East, Kurichi town on the South and Kuniyamuthur on the west.

However, due to lack of rains, coupled with encroachments and dumping of wastage in the water ways, the ground water level went down to 1,000 feet in the last two years.

                                

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Kurichi+Kulam,+Coimbatore,+Tamil+Nadu/@10.9660199,76.9633017,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x3ba85bd4d001e0c1:0x520fd1b2795e07e8