Bund strengthening goes to waste

CHENNAI: Problems plague the Chitlapakkam lake. For years, residents, activists and government officials have been working towards its revival, but the efforts often seem to be washed away. Even as many major waterbodies in the city are now clean and brimming with water — thanks to the lockdown and no human interference — Chitlapakkam lake continues to be in news for all the wrong reasons.

Almost two months into the lockdown, Chitlapakkam residents are fuming that the Water Resource Department (WRD) is strengthening the Chitlapakkam lake bunds by covering up the existing garbage with sand. “On the north side of the lake, there was a garbage dumpyard which went up to eight feet deep. Instead of mining this garbage and clearing it, the department is covering it up with mud to form the bunds,” said Salesh Aloshious, a member of Chitlapakkam Rising Team (CRT), a waterbody restoration group.

With lockdown relaxations now in place, the WRD resumed the desilting work a few weeks ago. While the restoration project has been estimated at `25 crore, residents cry foul that the money does not reflect in the work being done on the ground. “They have formed two small islands in the lake and a visit there shows all the waste like rubber tyres, plastic and other items buried in the bunds,” said Salesh. Visuals shared by the residents to Express confirmed the same. Sunil Jayaram, another member of CRT, said that the groundwater in several homes is already polluted and dark in colour. This, he added, will just pollute the groundwater further.

But this is not new to the residents. They suffered a harrowing experience in the summer of 2019 when the lake was not desilted, and there was no water supply. Little seems to have changed since then as, despite the initiation of the desilting process, loopholes continue to exist. “They started desilting two weeks ago. They are levelling the bunds with the silt taken from the lake itself,’’ rued Sunil.

According to the tender documents, the eco-restoration consists of desilting the tank bed, providing footpath, providing foreshore macro drain, formation of foreshore bund and inlet arrangements and construction of compound walls. The wait for this promise to be delivered continues. Residents are also angry with the engineers who argued that since the top surface of the garbage will only be mud, there is nothing to worry about. When Express contacted the WRD and shared the images, a top official said that he would look into it and take necessary action.