Volunteers resume Chitlapakkam Lake clean-up drive after 2 years

CHENNAI: Almost two years after the Covid pandemic hit the country, residents of Chitlapakkam on Saturday resumed massive clean-up drives to remove plastic trash on Chitlapakkam lake bed and bund. The drive was organised by the Tambaram Corporation to create awareness among the public. And request the people to volunteer in the clean-up drive to make the locality litter free zone.

“Through this massive clean-up drive, we make sure the lake is cleaned periodically. The officials at Tambaram Corporation urged that this initiative should create awareness where residents should also be a part of the clean-up drive. So, they would be conscious of throwing trash in public places,” said Sunil Jayaram of NGO Chitlapakkam Rising.

“There were around 100 volunteers and collected over 150 bags of trash on Sunday. They have planned to conduct this on second and fourth Saturdays every month. The corporation brings their vehicle to collect the waste collected by the volunteers,” he added.

Residents in Chitlapakkam have volunteered in the clean-up drive for almost eight years, and even during the lockdown they cleaned the waste and planted saplings near the lake with a small group of volunteers. The massive clean-up drive initiated on Saturday has been organized after a long gap.

“Our prior aim is to make the locality litter free. We want each and every person in the locality to participate in this clean-up drive to create awareness. And they would make sure they won’t throw waste on the road. In the coming weeks, we will focus on water bodies, hotspot areas, bus stops, railway stations, and near government buildings, ” said a senior official at Tambaram Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department (PWD) halted the Chitlapakkam lake restoration as they are waiting for funds from the government. The department has completed desilting and bund strengthening, but the allied component work such as gardening, sewage treatment plant, which is to be tendered.

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