Love of the lake

Residents are coming together to save their lakes from pollution and encroachment. From regularly conducting clean-up drives, sponsoring scientific restoration of the waterbodies and taking up legal recourse to tackle encroachments, these citizens are resolutely fighting for the restoration of their lakes. 

When Dilleeswara Babu, employed in a MNC, moved to his new residence at a township in Chemmenchery a few years ago, he stumbled upon the Arasankazhani Lake, which was strewn with garbage and broken tree branches. “There was very little water,” recalled the resident, who along with other passionate nature lovers in the vicinity, decided to revive the waterbody. The group pooled in to raise the required funds – a sum of Rs 6 lakh for the restoration, spearheaded by Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI), a city-based NGO. 

However, they soon ran into trouble. “We didn’t know how to go about it. When we went to the panchayat for the required permission, they were not very helpful. The initial work had started when the tahsildar threatened that he will seize the equipment. Then we found out that the lake belonged to the Public Works Department (PWD). It took us another six months to get the permission. In October 2013, we restarted the work and we restored it completely,” said the 46-year-old resident. 

The benefits of the restoration were clearly visible to the residents. “The groundwater levels were healthy even during the harsh summer and we saw many beautiful birds and animals frequenting the lake,” said Babu.

Residents of Perungudi started conducting clean-up sessions of the lake in their locality after the December deluge of last year. The lake, which was filled with plastic waste and untreated sewage, got a second lease of life. Sajeevan P, a member of the Perungudi Lake Area Neighbourhood (PLAN), said the regular cleanup efforts helped reduce the quantum of garbage being dumped into the lake. “We have removed tons of plastic waste from the lake and have even planted palm trees on the bund. Seeing us at work, the local communities stopped dumping garbage on the lake. Since defecation along the lake was a huge problem, we approached the Greater Chennai Corporation to build toilets, which they did. That was a huge accomplishment for us. The next step is to encourage the authorities to strictly ensure that people don’t defecate near the lake,” said the entrepreneur.

The residents took their efforts a step further – they put together the Perungudi Lake Festival in January this year. “We wanted the residents to appreciate our lake. During the carnival, we had painting and essay competitions for school children in and around Perungudi and a rangoli competition for the ladies, revolving around the theme of lake and nature. There was also a photo exhibition on the lake. On 26 January 2017, we would be holding this festival again in Kamaraj Nagar,” he added. 

In Pammal, five out of the six lakes have been lost to encroachment. The residents formed Pammal Tax Payers Association to save the remaining waterbody, the Thirupananthaal Lake. “In 2006, the lake was restored. But the local bodies and politicians create trouble for us. We have approached various government officials but to no avail. We have also put a pathway around the lake. But six acres of the 15-acre lake has been encroached. We are planning to take the legal route. If we lose this remaining lake too, the ground water level in our area will fall further,” said S.T Narayanaswamy, a retired government employee and a member of the association. 

Despite many residents taking up the cause of saving the neighbourhood lake, environmentalists say there is a need for more such initiatives. Arun Krishnamurthy, Founder of EFI, an NGO which has helped communities restore lakes and ponds across the city, said the community pride is missing. “Chennai has around 1.32 crore people and on any weekend, there are hardly a thousand people volunteering for all the causes put together. We need people to take pride in our lakes and forests and do their bit to save them,” he said.