Choked city lakes to breathe easy, courtesy biomining

Biomining is a process where garbage is separated mechanically – while metals and plastic are recycled, other combustibles are processed into Refuse-Driven Fuel (RDF) for industrial boiler units. Prakash Govindasami, Commissioner, Municipal Administration, said that following the successful experiment in Kumbakonam, they decided to test this concept in other municipalities. 

Next on the cards was Sembakkam, where garbage had choked a large part of the lake. “Work has been rapidly proceeding in Sembakkam and will be likely to be completed by end of March this year. 

In Pammal, work orders have been given, while biomining will be started in Pallavaram (where informal dump yard has choked the lake), Poonamallee, Tambaram, Chidambaram, Anakaputhur and Hosur,” said the official, adding that lakes are the first casualties of lack of solid waste management. 

Residents of Chitlapakkam, who were battling the local administration to remove the dump yard from the lake, were thrilled as a tender has been called for removal of the dump yard through biomining estimated at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. This step closely follows the biomining of garbage at Sembakkam lake, undertaken by the authorities recently, even as the focus on protecting neighbourhood waterbodies grows. 

According to the residents, the lake has shrunk from its initial capacity of 80 acres to 38 acres now, a part of which had turned into a dump yard for the municipal solid waste. Post the 2015 floods, there has been increased awareness on the waterbodies and residents have been trying to get the Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat to remove the dump yard. The third-party contractor cannot dump it in the lake (which is the easier option) but should dispose it of effectively. 

“We were planning to protest in a big way if no steps were taken before March this year. We are thrilled that an effort is finally being made to tackle the garbage dumping problem in the lake, as the tender has been opened for biomining of the waste,” said Sunil Jayaram, a resident and member of the citizens’ initiative titled Chitlapakkam Rising. 

Soil biologist and ecologist Sultan Ahmed Ismail said that with the focus now on the waterbodies, the effort should go beyond just quick-fixes. “We need to ascertain the kind of waste that has gone into it – if tubelights or expired medicines are thrown into the lake, it can cause various types of contamination. The water quality should be continuously monitored and if there is heavy metal presence, bioremediation methods can be used to remove it. Only continuous monitoring of water quality can help rehabilitation of the lake,” he concluded.