Volunteers resume cleaning of Korattur lake

With the pandemic worries ebbing away, green activists and volunteers resumed the lake cleaning drive in Korattur on Sunday. Observing that there has been little change among those who litter the water body, they said though it has been around 29 weeks since they initiated this Sunday drive, still, the waste collected remains the same at around 10-15 tonnes. They also urged the government to set up a sewage treatment plant so that the water can be purified and used for a better purpose.

The initiative was started in April 2021, but the second wave of the COVID pandemic had to be stopped for at least three months. Later, they resumed the work for a few weeks on Sundays, but last month, when the Sunday lockdown was announced due to the third wave, it was again halted.

“Earlier, we used to drain the water body but once it rains, it is again full mixed with the sewage water. So we are unable to get in and clean the waste. If sewage treatment plant is installed in the lake, the water could be used for various purposes including drinking,” said Sekaran, a volunteer of Korattur Lake Padhukaapu Makkal Iyakkam.

Around 40 members including children and senior citizens join the Korattur lake cleaning drive every Sunday. And they collect at least 10-15 tonnes of waste weekly. Though many awareness programmes are being conducted for the people, some of the locals still litter the water body.

“Whenever we come to clean near the lake we hope that we collect lesser waste, but nothing has changed. People are still unaware of the damage that plastic waste can cause. They think we are sanitary workers and ask us to clean the waste,” said Venu, another volunteer. “However, we have decided to continue the drive till people are educated on the need to stop littering the place,” he added.