Residents still unhappy over lake restoration

“They wound up the work without plugging the inlet that carries sewage. Without the drainage being blocked, the lake cannot be cleaned completely. This will also limit the benefit of recharging groundwater within a radius 2 kilometers,” said Bharathipuram Residents’ Welfare Association president R Ramdas.

The issue came into the spotlight when a motley group of residents living nearby undertook the cleaning works for the first time this June. The community initiated the works after pooling Rs 10 lakh and then sought the assistance of the authorities to remove the sand excavated from the lake.

Last month, the PWD awarded the contract to a private firm for cleaning the garbage along Nemilicherry lake, which is in its final phase of the restoration. “We can clear garbage from the site only to an extent as the sewage is still being let inside the waterbody. We will complete it soon,” sources said.

Once an important resource for groundwater recharge, the lake had lost the importance over the years. With plastic and other wastes choking the source the waterbody until a few months ago. PWD decided to take over the cleanup and promised to complete the work before August but failed to complete it. The work was started after a delay of two months. An official said, “The cleaning work at Nemilicherry lake was assigned to a private party, which will complete the work soon.”