CHENNAI: For the past two weeks, water has been gushing out from Chitlapakkam lake’s damaged sluice gate. Residents near lake say, the sluice gate that was repaired this year after several appeals, got damaged again during recent rains.
Earlier, the sewage that was discharged illegally into the lake clogged the lake bed pores, preventing percolation and recharging of the ground water table. And since the sluice gate was damaged, the authorities could not drain the water to clear the lake bed.
After the residents appealed the officials several times, the repair works were commissioned and completed this year. “However, the new gate got damaged around November 25, and the water has been gushing out since then.
The water from the sluice gate reaches Sembakkam lake, which is filled with sewage. So all water gets contaminated,” said Dayanand Krishnan, a resident of the area. Originally spread over 41 hectares, the lake is the uppermost water body in the Keelkattalai cluster of lakes.
After decades of encroachment, the lake has now shrunk to about 20 hectares. Release of sewage added to the water body’s pollution woes. When contacted, an official said that he was not aware of the issue and that the sluice gate will be repaired as soon as possible.