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Tamil Nadu
Rain exposes telling effect of encroachments
| Protection of waterbodies in southern suburban is the need of the hour |
GUSHING: Water from the Rajakilpakkam lake flooding an area on Thursday.
TAMBARAM: The devastating effect of encroachments on the sprawling waterbodies in the southern suburbs of Chennai was evident during the heavy rain last week. Lakes overflowed, not from their outlet points or ‘kalangal,’ but through exit points created by miscreants with the objective of preventing the properties of encroachers from getting inundated .
For instance, water from the Rajakilpakkam lake flowed through the Madambakkam Main Road and entered residential localities nearby. Problems began late on Wednesday night and authorities of the Sembakkam town panchayat stayed behind till the early hours of Thursday to prevent any untoward incident.
Like any other waterbody on the fringes of Chennai , the lake has been a victim of encroachments, with residents of Rajakilpakkam and Sembakkam alleging that it was owing to the failure of the government machinery to keep a check on the menace. The original expanse of the lake is nearly 110 acres and half of it has been encroached upon, revenue officials told reporters on Thursday.
Most of the encroachments have done an irreparable damage, as the lake bunds and its weirs were damaged permanently. Commercial complexes, religious structures, houses and huts have been built on the lake’s bund abutting the Velachery Main Road. In the past, when the lake was in its original form, the surplus water would flow out of the weirs and enter the Sembakkam lake and the Kamarajapuram ‘Thaangal’ through proper water channels on the northern direction, while another channel towards east would lead to the Gowrivakkam lake.
Unplanned development, haphazard construction and encroachments on the weirs, the lake’s bund and water channels had caused permanent damage, officials admitted.
With very little maintenance and support from the State Government agencies, the lake bund had become weak and vulnerable at least on three spots, said authorities in the town panchayat.
The problem is not restricted to the Rajakilpakkam lake where efforts to evict encroachers have met with little success.
But all ponds, tanks and lakes of Tambaram taluk that have fallen a prey to encroachments and pollution in the form of discharge of raw, untreated sewage.
The original links of water channels connecting one lake with the other in Tambaram taluk have almost vanished resulting in vast quantity of precious rainwater draining into the Bay of Bengal through the Buckingham Canal.
Losing no time, the State Government should give top priority to protection and restoration of all waterbodies sitated on the city’s fringes to their original state, office-bearers of the Neernilaigal Exnora said speaking to The Hindu.
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