Mogappair residents demand restoration of Mangal Eri

The Mangal Eri is a rain-fed water body that served as a water source for the residents of Mogappair before it deteriorated with the establishment of Ambattur Industrial Estate. Though the lake was used for agricultural purposes, it later went dry and was revived two years ago. However, the lake is once again in a pathetic state with overgrown weeds.

Talking about how the lake serves an important purpose of recharging groundwater reserves of the locality, Pushpa K, a resident of Mogappair for more than 20 years says, “If you take a survey around the locality, you will see that wells and bore-wells surrounding the park have water even during summer as compared to houses further away from the park.” She also adds that though residents there have asked the authorities to desilt the lake and restore it, they have been denied.

Locals urge the authorities to make use of the partially dried condition of the lake and begin work on dredging and deepening it further to collect more rainwater and develop it into a tourist hotspot like Chetpet Eco Park.

Around 500 visitors from not only Mogappair, but also from Anna Nagar, Ambattur, and Maduravoyal visit the park every day. “The authorities must take a cue from Chetpet eco-park and promote activities such as fishing and boating. They can also charge a penalty for the visitors who litter the park. If the officials have done the work before monsoon, the lake would have collected a good quantity of water,” said Venu Kumar E, another resident.

When contacted, a PWD official said that the works would be taken up when the government allocated funds.