Residents, NGOs plan to restore past glory of Sembakkam lake

Sources said that the restoration process, which will begin with Sembakkam Lake, will be conducted by Care Earth Trust, The Nature Conservancy and Indian institute of Technology – Madras, with the participation of the local community. Starting off from the Sembakkam lake, the other waterbodies in the city will also be considered, in the purview of the restoration of wetlands, claimed sources. 

The restoration will include various parameters, with studies related to water, soil contamination and pollutants as well as ecology and restoration. The study will be shared by all resident welfare associations and government line departments to finalise a plan and implement it – backed by thorough scientific research. 

The process was kickstarted on Saturday, when a meeting was held among the residents and members of the Care Earth Trust and The Nature Conservancy, to understand the local condition. Speaking to DT Next, P Vishwanathan, a resident of Sri Sarvamangala Nagar, said, “We said that we want a thorough restoration of the waterbody. This is something we have been pressing for two decades now. We also pointed out that there are borewells beyond 300 feet, eating into the water supply and the lack of underground sewage system is resulting in sewage inflow into the waterbodies.” 

Vishwanathan added, “In addition, garbage is being dumped into the lakes – especially the Chitlapakkam lake. We also requested the team to ensure the depth of storage, depth of lake and the storage capacity of Sembakkam lake, Chitlapakkam lake and Selaiyur lake to store the maximum rain water and recharge the ground water and also prevent flooding of residential areas, is considered.” 

Residents added that though the focus is on Sembakkam Lake, they would want a similar restoration process to be taken up for all the waterbodies in the vicinity, including the Chitlapakkam and Selaiyur lakes.