Chennai: In a deliberate move opposing the southern bench of National green Tribunal’s order to stop dumping the waste at Moovarasampet Lake, the local body administration continues to do it, destroying the ecosystem of the water body.
A board placed on the lake’s bund to stop the dumping has been uprooted; leading to ‘contempt of court.’ This has also made the judicial members to order the administration to file an affidavit.
A visit to the water body located off Madipakkam shows the sorry state of the lake, which once was the lifeline of the farmers who predominantly cultivated paddy.
“Moving the court on the issue brought no change as dumping and burning of waste continues. The situation has become so bad that many residents are considering options of relocating,” said Pa Varadharajan, a civic activist.
As much as two tonnes of garbage collected from the village panchayat is dumped on the lake bund that pollutes the water, according to a source from the revenue department. Frequent efforts of the environmental activists, who plant saplings on the bund, often go in vain.
Winged visitors of Pallikarnai marsh, including Indian moorhen, black-winged stilts, purple moorhens and warblers were once regular visitors of Moovarasampet lake, which is close to the wetland, said Bhaskar, a bird watcher, adding that the bird population has declined in the lake.
“We have strengthened the bund and de-silted the lake recently, after pooling in money of localites. Saplings planted by us are unable to survive, due to lack of monitoring. Why do the lakes in interior areas get no action from public works department?” asked V. Ramarao from Sabari Green Foundation.
A revenue official told Deccan Chronicle that a warning board would soon be displayed on the lake bund. “The panchayat that was relying on Perungundi dumpyard for waste disposal faced certain monetary issues with the Corporation. With no availability of space, garbage was dumped on the bund. However, Kancheepuram district administration has now issued permission to use the 10-acred land at Keerapakkam near Vandalur,” said the official, assuring that the lake would be restored soon.
