Wells in Madambakkam lake nearing completion

The announcement comes while the residents of the area are in a legal battle with the authorities against the digging of the wells. 

A resident of Madambakkam and a petitioner in the case, CR Sundar, said, “We are waiting for the case to come up for hearing in the court. But it is getting delayed inordinately. However, the works are being carried out. Residents will certainly feel the scarcity of water coming summer and then we can expect another round of protest.”

It is a Rs 3 crore project which envisages to draw 18 lakh litres of water per day.  For this purpose, the Panchayat had received a sanction from the Public Works Department (PWD) to dig five wells along the periphery of the lake. The works related to the project began last August.

An issue erupted when the locals contended that the Panchayat redrew the boundary of the 240- acre lake only to facilitate the digging of wells.

An official attached to the Panchayat said, “We have completed a major portion of the work. The pending works include laying of underground pipelines to facilitate water aupply to the residents of Madambakkam and its neighbouring area, Chitlapakkam. This will be completed in another one month.”

“This summer, the residents will not feel the pinch of water scarcity. Surplus water from the canal will be diverted to Chitlapakkam. This will be done without affecting the interest of the residents of Madamabakkam,” he added.