CHENNAI: With the lake housing the newly opened boat house in Thiruvottiyur drying up, the Greater Chennai Corporation has tried in vain to pump in water from a nearby pond, located behind the Sai Baba temple.
Meanwhile, the residents said the boat house, opened just before the Assembly election weeks ago, is yet another project that was rolled out with little thought towards its long-term feasibility.
Now, boats lie stranded in the facility near Burma Nagar in Ernavoor, while visitor numbers have sharply dropped. Ward councillor B Tamilarasan said the corporation had tried multiple measures to refill the lake, all of which failed.
The boat house, spread across 20.17 acres in Thiruvottiyur, was developed at a cost of Rs 4.62 crore and inaugurated by Mayor R Priya in March this year. The facility initially attracted huge crowds, with corporation sources saying it generated nearly Rs 1 lakh through ticket collections on the first day alone.
The project included 16 water-based attractions such as motor boats, pedal boats, kayaks, jet skis, aqua zorbing balls and aqua rollers. The officials said it had received one of the strongest public responses among similar boat house projects launched in north Chennai.
But the lake’s water level has now dropped drastically due to poor rain and intense summer heat. In several parts, the depth has reduced from at least 5 feet to barely 1 or 2 feet, affecting boating operations.
“When the project was inaugurated, officials expected summer rains to help maintain water levels. But Chennai saw very scant rain this year,” a corporation official said. “Now even generating `10,000 a day in revenue has become difficult.”
During a visit by TNIE, the premises remained empty, with boating activities continuing only in limited stretches. Staff at the site said the jet ski could still operate, but only in one deeper stretch of the lake.
The residents said the problem was foreseeable because the lake has historically been seasonal. R Balu (60), a resident of Annai Sivagami Nagar, said water accumulates in the lake only during the monsoon and quickly dries up during summer.
“Children used to play cricket on the dry lakebed. Restoring the waterbody is good for groundwater recharge, but boating is never practical here, because everyone in the locality knows the water will not remain throughout the year,” he said.
He added the recently developed Manali boat house is more sustainable, as surplus water released from the Puzhal lake during the monsoon gets stored there, helping maintain water levels even in summer.The residents also expressed concern over future groundwater stress in the area, pointing out occupancy in nearby TNUHDB tenements could significantly increase water demand from borewells.
