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.”
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.
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