Citizen Connect: Once a source of clean water, Araabath lake in Tirumullaivoyal is fast becoming a sewage body

SR Gopinath, a senior citizen and a resident of Cholambedu road in Tirumullaivoyal, has been living in the locality from 1997. He remembers the days when Araabath lake off CTH road was flocked by birds of different kinds where fish farming was briskly taking place. But that was years ago when the lake was once a source of clean water.

Now the lake is slowly becoming a sewage body as newly constructed apartments are draining sewage into the waterbody so that builders can save money. While Gopinath is happy about the growing urbanisation, he feels that health and hygiene have been compromised for the sake of concrete structures.

“Preventing public establishments from draining sewage water into the lake alone will not solve the problem because residential tenements are the main problem creators. A lot of commercial apartments do not have the means to dispose of sewage water and they let it into the storm water drains. This storm water drains, in turn, empty the sewage into the lake and pollutes the groundwater. Water in a few wells on our street has been polluted to an extent that it is no longer potable. Steps need to be taken to ensure that the facility of storm water drains is used only for rain water harvesting,” he said.

Vignesh, another resident of the locality, said that sewage carriers also let wastewater into the lake from CTH road during night hours. “The colour of the water in Araabath lake is starkly different from water in Ambattur lake, which shows the level of pollution in the lake because of its misuse,” he said, who recently moved to the city from Coimbatore.

Charles Kumuthan, a resident of Manikandapuram in Tirumullaivoyal, said builders have laid sewage pipes above the ground to drain the wastewater into the lake and wondered what emboldens them to openly flout rules. “The lake has been completely spoilt and has led to the death of aquatic species. Even after lodging complaints to the Tirumulaivayl police and Avadi municipality, no action has been taken so far. If directly questioned the people concerned, we are threatened,” he said.

Authorities at Avadi Municipality were not available for their comment.