Works to restore capacity of city lakes to be over before monsoon

Chennai

The eco-park restoration work of three major lakes – Chitlapakkam, Perumbakkam and Vengaivasal – has already resumed. The long-pending and much-awaited restoration work of Chitlapakkam lake commenced last month with an allocation of Rs 25 crore for the project.

“During the lockdown relaxation, we have resumed the eco-park restoration of three major lakes. Chitlapakkam lake restoration work, which was delayed for a long time, had already begun last month and is going on in full steam. Also, work on restoring the other lakes has also resumed. After the restoration work, the groundwater table will improve, which will be helpful for the areas surrounding them,” said G Radhakrishnan, Assistant Executive Engineer, WRD.

“We have also planned to create a park and walkway along the bund of Chitlapakkam, Perumbakkam, Adambakkam and Vengaivasal lakes as part of the eco-restoration work,” he added.

The restoration of the lakes was expected to be completed by June. But the work had to be stopped due to the lockdown. Now, the officials have hastened the work to finish it before the monsoon sets in.

“We would complete the work before northeast monsoon because we could face a critical situation as there will be fear of flooding in the areas surrounding the water bodies. So, the major works inside the water bodies will be done by July end, and the peripheral work would go on till August 15,” said Radhakrishnan.