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Overgrown vegetation in Ambattur lake turns cover for anti-social elements
The eco-park on the banks of Ambattur lake, which was opened for public use last year, is now a camp for anti-social elements as the lake is ridden with overgrown vegetation. Residents complain that the dense vegetation acts as a cover for illegal activities but the Water Resources Department (PWD) didn’t bother to clean the lake.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The lake is spread over 400 acres and the total cost for the construction of the eco-part was Rs 13.90 crore. The work went for almost three years and was inaugurated for public use in 2020. Barely six months later, locals complain that they can’t even use the part for a walk.
“The residents used the park for walking and children used to play there in the evenings. But for the past two weeks, men have been spotted drinking alcohol and playing cards hiding near overgrown plants. We also empty alcohol bottles and the place stinks due to open urination,” said Ganesh Babu R, a resident of Ambattur.
“There is a temple nearby and people are scared to even cross the lake, especially women and children. The government should clean the park and monitor the lake regularly,” he added.
The residents have raised complaints to the respective department, and are yet to get any response from them. The public has also asked permission to clean the lake themselves so that anti-social elements won’t camp there. But the permission was denied.
“We wrote a request to the CM cell to let us clean the lake ourselves but they refused to give permission. The WRD and Corporation have not bothered to inspect the place and take action,” said SP Nedumaran, another resident of Ambattur.
Speaking to DT Next, Karthikeyan, assistant engineer, WRD, said they trim the overgrown plants regularly and ensured that the illegal activities will be stopped and overgrown vegetation will be cleared at the earliest.
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