Restoration works of Pallavaram lake comes to halt

The 150-acre lake is under the maintenance of PWD, which sanctioned more than Rs 22 crore to carry out the works at the beginning of this year.

A resident of Pallavaram, D Balasundaram, said, “After the commencement of works, we saw workers removing sand with two earthmovers. Apart from that, we have not seen any progress in work. The residents who are living nearby are afraid of inundation during the rainy season. The works were halted before the commencement of monsoon.”

The project is being carried out under the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project.

The president of Confederation of Association for Integrated Urban Development, DS Sivasamy, said, “The work under this project is shoddy. The quantum of silt removed from the lake goes unchecked. The contractor who undertook the deepening project is responsible for the road widening works that is being carried out along the Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram Radial Road. The private party is utilising the excavated sand for the roadworks.”

The residents had flagged their protest when the civic body constructed a drain network in the middle of the lake, to divert sewage of households into the underground drainage system. The works related to it also remain incomplete.

According to the mechanism, the restoration works should be carried out after PWD marks the boundary of the lake and flattening of encroachments.

An official attached to the PWD said, “The works have been assigned to the municipality. All the waterbodies in the city are subjected to encroachments. It is a long process to remove them. All the restoration works will be carried out after the withdrawal of northeast monsoon.”