CHENNAI: Even as residents are dedicating their free time to clean Chitlapakkam lake, miscreants, on the other hand, broke the bund to allow sewage to flow into the water body last week.
“The only thing that was stopping sewage flowing in the canal from getting into the lake was the bund. Miscreants broke the bund because sewage will get blocked and flow backwards near residential colonies,” said Bhaskar of Chitlapakkam.
After complaints, PWD authorities raised the bund from five feet to about seven feet overnight on Wednesday.
However, as long as sewage continues to flow into the canal which leads to the lake, the threat of contamination remains, claim residents.
The canal carries sewage from East Tambaram and areas in Chitlapakkam, including Periyar Street.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had announced `25 crores for reclamation of Chitlapakkam lake. Prior to this, residents had initiated a cleaning drive to remove plastic and other garbage. “The effort that has gone into the lake is incredible. Senior citizens, children and others all took part in the drive. This is being undone by the flow of sewage,” said another resident.
When contacted, a PWD official said talks were on with Tambaram municipality to stop inflow of sewage.
“We have increased the height of the bund by two feet right now because it will make it more difficult to break it,” the official claimed.