The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : It's an apology for a pond

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

It's an apology for a pond

K. Manikandan

A victim of urbanisation and encroachments A large portion has already been usurped by land sharks

SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS: The Ramasamy Kulam near the Pallavaram Railway Station. — Photo : A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM : Thousands of commuters who use the Pallavaram Railway Station, would be surprised if they were told about the presence of a water body near the station.

With dense vegetation above the water surface and encroachments covering its fringes, the `Ramasamy Kulam' near the Pallavaram Municipality is facing the threat of extinction, badly in need of an urgent intervention by the authorities concerned.

Unlike other water bodies, which are dry during the summer season, this pond was brimming, not with water but with sewage from apartments and shops surrounding it. Now, it is nothing more than a reservoir of sewage seeping in incessantly from houses and commercial establishments in the vicinity.

A large portion of the pond has already been usurped by land sharks, who prey on the southern suburbs of Chennai.

Long-time residents of the locality recall that the pond used to be a source of crystal-clear water when there were few buildings around.

Further, the thorny thickets made it inaccessible to people. Over a period of time the pond became a victim of unplanned urbanisation.

There have been occasional efforts from the Government to protect and preserve this water body, but activists feel that the measures have been superficial.

They urge government agencies to immediately intervene and remove the floating vegetation, desilt the pond, clear all forms of garbage and stop the flow of sewage into it.

There are also fears that the pond might vanish once and for all as one of the two lift stations for the underground drainage network is proposed to be set up here.

However, officials of the Pallavaram Municipality and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board allayed these fears, stating they would require only a very small area of land for the lift station.

The lift station, moreover, would be located outside the fringes and the pond would not be filled up for the project.

Once the lift station was built, the pond would be given a new lease of life as flow of sewage into it would be prevented automatically, officials said.

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