Youngsters give new lease of life to pond in Perumalpattu

Chennai

Gowrishankar K, a 34-year-old media professional, and his friends from the locality resolved to clean the neighbourhood pond. 

“We tried to approach the officials on our own, but things didn’t move,” recalled the resident. Like-minded youngsters from the locality decided to take two steps – one, form a youth-powered association called Tiruvallur Taluk Consumer and Environmental Protection Association, and second, seek technical expertise from an NGO. 

“We reached out to EFI, which assured us of help, provided we get permission from the Panchayat officials. It took the association a few days to get the requisite permission from the Block Development Officer (BDO). After that, we had to tackle the pond, which had severe sewage in-flow and rampant garbage dumping,” said Gowrishankar. Ram Narayanan, a member of EFI, said that they had to dewater the pond to plug the sewage inflow. 

“The residents mobilised the youngsters to participate in a series of cleanups – the first step. There was a lot of sewage and weeds in the pond, which required two months of work, using earthmovers to desilt and deepen the pond. The silt was used to strengthen the bunds and the boundary has been demarcated. 

The lake is completely restored, and the association is overseeing the maintenance,” he said, adding that the organisation has approached the Tiruvallur district administration to restore two more ponds in the vicinity. 

Gowrishankar believes that maintaining the restored pond will be a difficult task. “But it has to be done. Every day, when I take my dog out for a walk, I check for garbage dumping or new illegal sewage lines. We have put out a board asking people not to litter. We hope the community helps us keep our pond alive,” he added. 

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