T.N. Minister inaugurates clean-up and desilting of Ooty lake

Ooty lake and boat house clean-up project inaugurated by Minister Saminathan, costing ₹7.51 crore, with automated cleaning equipment installation.

The project to clean-up and desilt the Ooty lake and boat house was inaugurated on Tuesday by the Minister for Information and Publicity, M.P. Saminathan.

Mr. Saminathan told reporters that the Ooty lake was being cleaned and desilted at a cost of ₹7.51 crore. He said that the lake would be desilted and weeds cleared from the lake across an area measuring 24 hectares. Once cleaned and desilted, tourists would be allowed across the entire extent of the lake, he added.

The Minister said that automated cleaning equipment would be installed at the Sewage Treatment Plant located at the mouth of Ooty lake to clear debris and plastic before it entered the water body. The equipment will be installed at a further cost of ₹1.20 crore, he said.

Recently, the government had brought in scientists to study measures that can be implemented to clean up the Ooty lake and boat house. Environmentalists and consumer protection activists in the Nilgiris said that they hoped that the clean-up would be conducted ensuring that the nesting sites of birds in the area would not be disturbed. They also called on the district administration to clampdown on the illegal dumping of waste and discharge of sewage into the Kodappamund Channel from residences and businesses located along its course cutting through the town.

Also present at the inauguration of the clean-up and desilting was the Nilgiris District Collector, Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru, and Coonoor MLA and Chief Whip in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, K. Ramachandran.