Residents want Mangal Eri Park, labelled as the pride of Mugappair, Chennai, developed as a eco-park like in Chetpet and want the lake inside deepened and cleaned.
Mangal Eri is a rain-fed reservoir that served as a water source for the village of Mugappair before it began deteriorating with the establishment of Ambattur Industrial Estate. In 2009, the Mangal Lake Park was established and the 50-feet water body spread over 5.32 acres was revived. However today, the lake is once again in pathetic state with overgrown weed.
With summer almost here, residents want authorities to make use of the partially dried condition of the lake and begin work to dredge and deepen it further to collect more rain water and develop it into a tourist hotspot similar to Chetpet Eco Park.
Krishnaveni (84), a longtime resident of Nolambur, said, “The pond inside Mangal Eri Park is not just for aesthetics. It serves an important purpose of recharging groundwater reserves of the locality. If you take a survey around the locality, you will see that wells and bore-wells surrounding the park have water even in Summer compared to houses further away from the park.”
Every day, on an average, around 500-1000 visitors from not only Mogappair but also from Anna Nagar, Ambattur, Nolambur and Maduravoyal visit the park. Amruta, a student of Spartan Matriculation, said, “The authorities must take a cue from Chetpet eco-park and promote sport-fishing and boating. A small fee could even be charged for it and it can be used for the upkeep of the park.”
| GOOD NEWS |
| The Zone 7 civic authorities have a Rs 65 lakh proposal to desilt the lake and carry out maintenance activities. Negotiations with contractors are underway, say sources.A few years back too the Chennai Corporation had plans to develop facility at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. But the plans were dropped due to opposition from the residents who argued that it was unnecessary. A resident said, “First the government will develop the park. Next, they will charge us money to enter a place which we have been using for free. Parks should be free for everyone to enjoy.” |