CHENNAI: Apart of the Kallu Kuttai Lake which lies less than a kilometre away from Taramani MRTS station, shrouded from the public eye, has turned into a dumping ground, especially for construction debris. The periphery of the lake is strewn with garbage and heaps of construction waste along with a heavy infestation of weeds which have grown up to five feet in height.
City Corporation’s failure in carrying out periodic maintenance is apparent. This is despite repeated complaints to the officials from the local residents. When Express visited the spot, a private truck carrying garbage and construction debris was discarding waste into the water. Also, around eight residential houses were found to be built on what appears to be the lake bed.
The Kallu Kuttai Lake, which originally spread across 50 acres, was divided into two parts after the MRTS station and road were built. While one part of the waterbody, located on the side of the station, is clean with no signs of pollution, the other part lies in stark contrast.
S Sethuraman, a member of Madipakkam Water Bodies Rejuvenation Group, has registered two complaints on the Corporation’s helpline number 1913 two weeks ago, but officials have not taken cognizance of the issue till now. “They told me that conservancy workers regularly clean the place but people from neighbouring areas regularly dump waste here. But when I visited the place on Tuesday, it was clear that waste has been accumulating for months,” said Sethuraman.
Locals living near the lake said that they have spotted few sewage tankers disposing untreated wastewater into the waterbody. “As this area is very secluded even in the mornings, sewage tankers have a free-run here. Very few people take the train at Taramani and only a handful of motorists take the Taramani Station Road to reach Velachery. Because of this, it is very easy to misuse the waterbody to dispose of garbage and sewage here,” said Parvathi K, a resident of Bharathi Nagar.
Corporation officials from Zone 14 of Perungudi said that they were working along with the police and have caught many erring lorries who tried to dump debris in the lake. “We can clear the accumulated garbage only once in fifteen days, but we carry this out regularly. As the lake falls partly on the 250-acre private land owned by the director of Technical Education and partly on railway property, we are unable to take independent decisions. But, very soon we plan to fence the boundary of the lake,” said an official in charge of the Corporation Zone.
The difference
The Kallu Kuttai Lake, which originally spread across 50 acres, was divided into two parts after the MRTS station and road were built. While one part of the lake, located on the side of the station, is clean with no signs of pollution, the other part lies in stark contrast.