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Lake dried up after local body blocked its inlet channels, allege residents
The residents of Sathamkuppam near Kelambakkam alleged that a lake that was once a source of potable water had dried up after the local body built a road blocking the channels through which water flowed into the lake. The residents urged the authorities to renovate and revive the waterbody.
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Chennai
Sathamkuppam village located on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) consisted of 9 wards where nearly 50,000 people reside.
Until a few years ago, residents of the village benefitted from the lake at the Keli Amman Koil in their village limits.
The lake stretched across an area of two acres and the locals used the water from the water body for their daily needs.
The residents alleged that since the last few years the lake was not maintained and new roads were laid in the village blocking the flow of water into the lake.
As a result the waterbody dried up; shrubs and even trees began to grown in the lake bed.
D Deva Anbu, an activist from the locality claimed that they requested the panchayat officials to clean-up the lake.
He also asked the officials to build a canal in between the roads to make way for water to flow into the lake and get filled again.
He further added that the officials also need the lake to be maintained properly by making pathway around the lake for walking and other recreational purposes.
When contacted, Kelambakkam village panchayat secretary Kumarasamy said that they are planning to renovate the lake to restore its old charm and work for the same begin after the state highways department completed the Padur-Thaiyur bypass road.
Several waterbodies in the southern suburbs suffer a similar fate with rampant urbanisation of the region leading to widespread encroachment of waterbodies and blocking of inlet channels leading to depletion of the water table in these areas.
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