Residents spearhead campaign to clean up lakes

On January 30, a group of volunteers will gather at Adambakkam lake around 7 am to take part in a lake clean-up campaign as part of the Environment Foundation of India’s initiative. After taking permission from the authorities, volunteers will strive to get the lake cleaned over eight weeks. The group with the support of the authorities has been organising many such clean-up campaigns. 

Before Adambakkam, they took up the Keezhkattalai Lake. Ram Narayanan,  coordinator of these campaigns, says, “Last week we saw some 17 volunteers but this weekend we are expecting more than 60. As word spreads in the neighbourhood, more people are expected to come forward. We will also have school students and corporate employees once the work begins.”  

They also have a group that organise activities such as street plays to sensitise people about the detrition of natural resources in the neighbourhood. Over the years, many lakes in the city have been encroached or used as a dumping ground.  

Residents of Parsn colony near the Perumbakkam lake have had enough. “The residents decided to actively participate in lake cleaning activities. At least 30 are actively involved. In fact, we collected Rs 2 lakh to carry out the excavation work soon after we got permission from the PWD department,” says Thilak Iyer, a resident who spearheaded the campaign. 

The plan is to resume the work as damage has been done by the floods. There are some resident associations campaigning for the cause for decades. Sri Sarvamangala Nagar Residents’ Association, Chitlapakkam, a registered body has been taking up the issue of lakes in the neighbourhood since late ‘90s. “We joined the co-ordination committee of welfare associations of Chitlapakkam to sort out matters relating to preservation of Chitlapakkam lake.

We joined hands with several residents associations and approached the National Green Tribunal to stop garbage dumping and burning in Sembakkam lake and got a favourable verdict.”