Gundur Periyakulam lake gets new lease of life

The works will be technically guided by the Public Works Department (PWD) and financially supported by villagers, farmers, and social activists. Desilting works are expected to go on for at least a month. The district administration says there are plans to give a facelift to the water body and turn it into a tourist destination. A small bird sanctuary is also likely to come up there, say the officials.

According to the PWD officials, the Gundur Periyakulam extends for nearly 350 acres in Gundur village. Decades back, it had been catering to the irrigation needs of 410 acres of cultivable lands in the nearby villages. 

Reportedly it is one of the massive lakes situated close to the city limits. But it was desilted about 20 years back. But the water body has shrunk due to poor maintenance, encroachments such as advertisement hoardings and construction of residential blocks on the fringes of the lake. 

To retrieve the once majestic water body that was helping the nearby villages for an augmented groundwater table, Gundur Periyakulam Lake Retrieval Committee was formed by the villagers, farmers, and like-minded representatives of Thanneer NGO in the city. 

In the recent meetings held for rejuvenating the water body, as villagers and farmers agreed to financially support the maintenance drive, with official support from the district administration and technical support from PWD, desilting drive was formally commenced by the collector. 

On the desilting of the water body, the district collector said, the district administration, so far, has taken up 420 water body works, and we are also externally supporting the much-needed initiatives of welfare organisations with the involvement of respective locals and farmers to improve the domestic infrastructure to store available water. 

It is said that the Periyakulam Lake in Gundur was once recharged by the New High level Channel, a distributary channel of River Cauvery. However, with encroachments in the inlet and outlet regions, the collector assured that necessary action would be taken to safeguard the water body. 

“Apart from the desilting and dredging drive in other bodies, we have planned to make sand dunes in the 350 acre lake. Saplings would be planted over the dunes for establishing a bird sanctuary and turn it into a tourist attraction besides storing surplus water. 

K C Neelamegam, secretary of Thaneer NGO, one of the coordinators, said. Soil excavated during the dredging drive of Gundur Periyakulam will be given to farmers for agriculture purpose after obtaining the consent of PWD.