CHENNAI: Encroachments have started cropping up in Vannankottai lake in Perambur, spread across over one and a half acres. Residents say huge mounds of sand are being disposed in the waterbody daily, and construction is taking place.
“Earlier, the water was primarily being used by the villagers to wash clothes. Later, the lake had been recharging groundwater level. However, over the last five years, encroachments have started cropping up,” said SP Nedumaran, waterbody conservation activist.
It began with the establishment of hutments, and now concrete structures were being built, he added. “The encroachment escalated quickly. In the last two years, people have been disposing sand in the lake and are building structures. In this pace, the lake will completely be encroached soon,” he said. Notably, the government had allocated funds last year to desilt the waterbody.
“Public had started disposing garbage, and soon the lake started emanating foul smell. Since the slum dwellers nearby do not have access to piped drainage, they connect their drainage pipelines to this waterbody. After repeated appeals, the government had allocated funds, but desilting did not happen. On the other hand, the lake is being encroached blatantly,” said R Ramakrishnan, a resident of Perambur.
The residents say the boundary of the waterbody must be demarcated, and an announcement board must be put up saying the lake belongs to the government. Activists say the waterbody will vanish soon as housing and commercial establishments would come up if action is not taken early. They also fear that attempts would be made to sell the lake bed like in other parts of the city. When contacted, an official concerned said that they would examine the waterbody and take necessary action.