Chitlapakkam Lake in Chennai full of life after five years

CHENNAI: Chitlapakkam Lake that was a landfill brimming with hyacinth, garbage, and sewage water five years ago, has now become a source of pride for the locality offering a space for leisure for elders and children and a home to hundreds of birds.

Observing that birds started to visit the lake last year and are coming in large numbers to the lake this year, Dayanand Krishnan, a local activist, said, Chitlapakkam Lake is becoming a beautiful example for urban lake restoration and it is the pride of our town.

The story of the successful restoration of the lake began during the 1980s when residences and locality started developing around the lake. The residents of the locality united for the common purpose of safeguarding the lake when the government announced a housing project on the lake in the 1990s.

As the residents associations decided to preserve the lake by opposing the housing project on May 31, 1993, the government dropped the project in June 1994, P Viswanathan, another activist, recalled.

However, it was not the fairy tale ending as the rise in population and housing demands put the lake under stress. The local body started dumping garbage while the houses let sewage into the lake. Despite the residents contributing funds to strengthen the lake under Namakku Naame Thittam (NMT) in 2002, the lake continued to rot as water hyacinth covered the surface.

As a shot in the arm, the State government proposed the restoration of the lake at Rs 25 crore in 2019. As part of the initiative, the lake was desilted, the bund was strengthened and most importantly, garbage was removed and sewage outlets were sealed. In addition, provisions for viewpoints, children's play areas, and walkways were created.

On the lake being a bird sanctuary, bird watcher Mohammed Ghani claimed that around 20 species of birds including the white-throated kingfisher, Little cormorant, Little grebe, White-browed wagtail, Indian spot-billed duck, Asian openbill, and others visit the lake every day.

"Earlier, I would go to Nanmangalam, Pallikaranai, or Vedanthangal for bird watching and photography. Now, I can bird watch at a place, which is within 1 km from my house," he added.

The presence of trees around the lake and the island inside the lake aid the birds in building nests, he explained. "It may be noted that the state forest department has planted more than 1,000 trees around the lake. We are maintaining the trees regularly and the trees will grow completely in two years and accommodate more birds," said VA Saravanan, Chennai district forest officer.

Explaining that water birds would migrate based on the availability of water in the water bodies, Yuvan Aves, the founder of Palluyir Trust and a bird expert, said, "During the summer, marshland dries up and becomes grassland. During such periods, birds go to lakes. However, the lake should have a healthy benthic boundary layer (bottom layer) to support small organisms, fishes, and then birds," he explained.

Not enough, long way to go, says activist

Children laughing their hearts out and birds chirping incessantly may seem like the lake has finally witnessed the fairy tale moment, but it has not, warns Viswanathan.

"This is not the end. We have to maintain the lake daily. Steps should be taken to ensure rainwater from Pachaimalai Hill drains into Chitlapakkam Lake as per the natural course thereby the excess water from Chitlapakkam Lake goes to Chembakkam and other lakes before ending at Pallikaranai Marshland. The struggle to ensure Pachaimalai water reaches Chitlapakkam Lake continues," Viswanathan said.

He requested the government and the residents to protect every lake in their neighbourhoods.