Activists to press for action against those dumping garbage in Putheri Lake

Although the Pallavaram Municipality has removed the garbage dumped in the north side of the Putheri Lake, the residents and social activists said they would continue their struggle until the offenders were brought to book.

There was a sense of outrage among the residents and social activists when lorry loads of garbage were dumped in the lake on the night of December 30. The north side of the lake was renovated at a cost of ₹20 lakh which was met through donations from residents and non-governmental organisations.

Pallavaram Municipal Commissioner C. Mathivanan said the municipality employed an excavator to clean the place and fined the culprit ₹25,000. He said the municipality had filed a police complaint. It was for the police to take action in the matter.

Activist V. Santhanam, pointing to the mounds of debris removed and dumped along the bunds of the lake, said this had given more room for encroachments to crop up on the lake. Already, a number of shops had been set up on the lake bunds. He said the fine levied on the person who dumped the garbage was a pittance compared to the money spent on renovating the lake a few years ago.

The residents, who had given several representations to the Commissioner of Municipal Administration and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), want the government to take stringent action against those who damaged the lake.