Residents to stage human chain to restore Porur lake

Arunachalam, a software engineer, spearheading this initiative, said that they have been working towards saving the Porur lake over the past few years. The residents said that since the lake was a major source of water for not only Porur but also surrounding areas such as Ramapuram and Mugalivakkam, they want the government to take steps to ensure that the lake is not further encroached upon.

The residents are demanding that the Porur Lake is desilted to full capacity and the temporary road below the bridge removed. They want the boundaries of the lake to be demarcated and encroachments removed. The ‘Thandhi Canal’ connecting Chembarambakkam Lake and Porur Lake should be desilted.

In 1954, the Porur lake boundary extended beyond the present Sri Ramachandra Medical College in the North. Since the Porur Lake was split into two by the Mount Poonamallee High Road, it was also called as Retteri (meaning twin lakes) by the locals.

Later, 140 acres of the Porur Lake was given to Sri Ramachandra Medical College. By 2000, most parts of the lake were encroached upon leaving only about 64 acres of the lake.