Citizen connect: Vaipur villagers peeved as apartment complexes release sewage water into Karanithangal lake

The Vaipur village panchayat, which falls under the Kundrathur panchayat union, has six wards with a population of more than 5,000 people, including residents of Karanithangal, Vanjuvanchery, Kulathalanchery, Vellerithangal and Karanithangal Nagar.

With most of the villagers earning their livelihood from farming, the water from the lake in Karanithangal is an important source for them. But, presently, owing to the mushrooming of apartment complexes in the past few years, the lake has been grossly populated, allegedly because the sewage from many of these complexes is let out into the lake, say the peeved villagers.

The villagers alleged that they are unable to use to water from the lake to irrigate their fields due to this. According to them, those who bathe and wash clothes in the lake are also suffering from skin diseases.

“We have urged the village panchayat officials to look into the issue, and also lodged complaints with the sub Collector and the BDO. But, no response has come forth yet,” said Naresh, one of the residents of the village.

Due to the inaction by the authorities, the public resorted to a protest a week ago by blocking the road in their village, demanding the officials to act against the apartment complexes that are polluting the lake. However, though the blockade was withdrawn following assurances from the BDO and panchayat officials, nothing has moved forward in stopping the apartment complexes from discharging their waste into the lake.

The villagers warned that if the officials failed to act, they would be stage another round of protest, this time in a bigger way by blocking the Walajabad-Tambaram road, until their problem gets resolved.

When contacted, Vaipur village panchayat secretary Prosothaman said, “We have issued notice to the apartments and have asked them to disconnect the pipes. We will monitor the situation closely. If anyone is found violating the order, we will take action.”