Equipped with gloves and large garbage bags, over 100 volunteers carried out a clean-up of Chitrakulam pond on August 5.
Mylapore MLA R. Nataraj, N. C Sridhar, chairman of Adhikesava Perumal temple, students of Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls’Higher Secondary School and Vivekananda College and many residents came together to clean the bone-dry pond. Debris, broken glasses and vegetation were removed from the pond.
“The pond is centuries-old. It is one of the few ponds in the city with a sand bed. We clean it once in three months by hiring people, but this is the first time we have volunteers pitching in,” said N.C. Sridhar. The temple authorities took up the clean-up with the help of Loka Dharma Seva Foundation Trust, a group that takes up similar initiatives regularly at various temples of Mylapore. “The main problem is that residents dump garbage in the pond. Vegetable shops also contribute to the problem.”
The pond is dry most of the time. The temple has now sunk a borewell in pond to ensure it is filled regularly.
A few residents have expressed concern that this exercise can cause groundwater depletion in surrounding areas.
Rain water experts have pointed out that when a tank is dry it’s ideal to de-silt it, so that when it rains water will seep into the ground.
However, the Trustees of the temple say this exercise will not affect the groundwater level in any way. “Ponds were set up by our ancestors for rainwater harvesting. Only 33% of the rainwater is being consumed by us. It is very important to preserve ponds. I am very happy that the younger generations have come forward for this cause,” said Nataraj.
Besides buttermilk and water, lunch was provided by the temple management. For details about the next clean-up, contact R.Subramanian at 9444381476