Residents raise concern over poor maintenance of Puzhithivakkam lake

Residents and activists concerned about poor maintenance of Puzhithivakkam lake in southern suburbs, leading to garbage accumulation and inconvenience.

Poor maintenance of the Puzhithivakkam lake, located between Madipakkam and Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam areas, in the southern suburbs is causing concern among residents and social activists of the area.

The lake, which is also called ‘Sitheri’ (small lake), is spread over a huge area, starting from Balaiah Garden on the Madipakkam side and ending behind the campus of a government school on the Puzhithivakkam side. While most portions of the walkway on the waterbody’s bund has an iron fence and bollards to prevent the unauthorised entry of people and vehicles, garbage continues to be dumped into the lake at some places.

Seeni Sethuraman, office-bearer of the Water Bodies Rejuvenation Forum Trust and a resident of Madipakkam, said the lake, similar to the one in Madipakkam, had become a popular spot for walkers but poor maintenance of the facilities, such as the walkways, was causing them inconvenience. Due to this, portions of the footpath have broken off and garbage has started accumulated along the bund.

Mr. Sethuraman complained that the waterbody was in poor condition and that awareness among the public was lacking. Even the officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Water Resources Department (WRD) are not cleaning the lake regularly, he alleged.

A senior GCC official of the Sholinganallur zone said the waterbody belonged to the WRD but the civic body had been regularly cleaning the walkway with conservancy staff.