2,000 people join to clear Vaduvoor Lake of vegetation

TIRUCHY: Over 2,000 volunteers in a mega camp cleared several hundreds of tonnes of vegetation, including hyacinth from Vaduvoor Lake in Tiruvarur, where one of the vast bird sanctuaries is located on Saturday.

In a process of conservation of wetlands and preserving water bodies under the control of the Tamil Nadu Forests department, a mega cleaning camp was organised at Vaduvoor Lake in Tiruvarur. Environmental activists, students, members of NGOs and public were roped in by the Forest department to remove the vegetation in the lake.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests an Director of Green Tamil Nadu Mission Deepak Srivatsava, who led the cleaning operation in the presence of the Collector T Charusree, said, the lake is situated in an area of 316 acres through which over 12,000 acres in Vaduvoor, Thenpathi, Vadapathi, Melpathi, Sathanur, Edamalayur, Edakeezhayur, Kattakudi, Karuvakurichi and Peraiyur villages get irrigated. The lake also consists of one of the major bird sanctuaries in which several thousands of local and foreign birds reside.

“It was found that the major portion of the lake was covered with the thick blanket of vegetation and the department decided to remove them with the support of the district administration and so the volunteers were invited for a mega cleaning camp. We could rope in around 1,500 students and 500 members of the public, environmentalists and NGO members and could remove several hundreds of tonnes of vegetation,” Deepak Srivastava said.

He said that the removed vegetation has been shifted to a land adjacent to the lake to dry them for making organic fertiliser. “They would be dried for at least 45 days and used as fertiliser for readying five lakh saplings to be used for the Green Tamil Nadu Mission,” said Deepak.

Mannargudi MLA TRB Rajaa, Tiruvarur district Forest Officer K Arivoli and others were present during the cleaning camp.