Chennai

“During restoration, clearing of garbage should be the first step. But without clearing the trash, the officials started the desilting work. The groundwater is already contaminated, and we hoped that we would get a solution after the restoration work. Adding to our woes, sewage is getting mixed in the lake, due to which we are scared that the situation would be worse,” said Subramanian K, a resident.

The residents have been facing this issue for more than two years and were looking forward to see clean water after the restoration of the lake. “There was more rainfall this year as compared to the last two years. But due to careless work of the authorities, it remains the same,” said Krishnamurthy PP, another resident.

Though they have filed complaints to the Corporation officials to clean the canal, nothing has been done so far, alleged the residents.

When contacted, a senior official of WRD said, “We removed the garbage before the desilting the lake. It must be the public who threw the waste back into the lake. We don’t restore the lake without clearing the lake and removing the encroachments near the waterbody.”

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