Chennai: Bifurcated by the 200-feet Radial Road, Putheri Lake at Chrompet in the city suburban area is a waterbody that has been subjected to severe abuse for a long time.
It has been bearing the brunt of sewage inflow, overgrowing water hyacinth and encroachments since the last few years, while funds allotted to rejuvenate have proven to be of minimal use.
The irked residents of Chrompet and Pallavaram now seek an answer to this problem.
Coupled with this is the water crisis that the locality faces each year, with locals opining that the freshwater of the lake could reduce scarcity to a certain extent, if it is desilted before the onset of monsoon.
But it certainly cannot be denied that the Municipality has not taken any measures to restore the lake.
In May 2017, it was learnt that the authorities had cleaned-up the Southern side in Chrompet.
Following this, David Manohar, a resident, filed an RTI demanding the full disclosure of the project.
However, he identified that the dredging work was carried out only on the Southern side, ignoring the North part. Subsequently, the activist raised the issue once again to officials.
“Initially, I was told that the first section was not even considered as a part of the waterbody. At the end of the long fallout, the Tahsildhar stated that the earlier statement by the Municipality official was not verified and promised to clean the entire waterbody,” said David.
Later with the aid from Pasumai Peruga Sutham Sei (PPSS) this year, a local NGO, the other part of the lake was attended to. Further, the activist feels that officials are trying to syphon off the funds provided.
When he questioned the authorities, they are reported to have stated that it was a clerical error.
“With additional financial aid from a college, the authorities have constructed a wall-like structure along the waterbody,” stated David.
About two weeks ago, it was learnt that the Municipality has received a grant of Rs 30 lakh for the rejuvenation process, and that the aid came from the CSR wing of a private company.
However, residents are skeptical as to why funds were allocated once again, despite receiving a pamphlet explaining the recent grant.