Chennai: Puzhuthivakkam lake’s restoration will be complete within a month’s time and the waterbody will get better amenities than that of Karthikeyapuram lake, state Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC)’s Smart City Department officials.
This has revived hope among residents regarding the restoration of the ailing waterbody which has been grappling with issues such as encroachment and sewage entry.
Puzhuthivakkam lake is the second largest waterbody in the locality after Karthikeyapuram lake, spanning a total of 32 acres. But over time, encroachments cropped up and reduced the area of the waterbody to around 27 acres.
Residents said the encroachments, which were mostly by cattle owners who used the availability of plants as their grazing grounds. It also lead to contamination with garbage and sewage entry, over time. Due to the lake being unfit for storage, the neighbourhood suffered maximum damage during the December deluge of 2015.
Estimates to the tune of Rs 7 crore were prepared to rejuvenate the lake with then Mayor also agreeing to release Rs 1 crore and a further Rs 67 lakh getting released from the MP’s fund.
But the project got halted due to lack of funds beyond. The waterbody reeled under severe crisis for the next three years. With GCC’s Smart City Department taking up the issue aggressively, hopes revived and the lake restoration project got a further Rs 2.4 crore sanctioned. Restoration work started in November last year and now the waterbody is the talk of the town and posts a new look.
Now, sources from Smart City Department said the work will get over by February and that the lake will get a walking track, fences, benches, landscaping on bunds and even two islands in the middle with greenery and trees. There will also be a government-owned gym which isn’t present at the Karthikeyapuram lake. As of now the the waterbody is fully desilted with bunds strengthened.