CHENNAI: Though they stay near a waterbody, residents of Jayalakshmi Nagar, near Pallavaram, wait for nearly a week for potable water. Over 60-70 acres of the 100-acre Moovarasampettai lake have been encroached. Despite dredging by the Public Works Department as part of restoration work, the lake takes in sewage through stormwater drains and even the groundwater table has been affected. “We don’t drink borewell water. It’s hard water and used only for washing as it’s polluted by waste released into the lake,” said Jayalakshmi Nagar Residents Welfare Association secretary S Ramakumar.
Pallavaram Municipality draws water from a borewell in the lake for 42 wards. Though a truck operator said this water was for drinking, officials gave no confirmation. Ramakumar said he had written to the municipality, PWD, Kancheepuram collector and Tirusulam village panchayat in 2007, cautioning them about the problems posed by stormwater drains carrying sewage.
“We informed the PWD, but they did not act.” Residents add that the absence of a sewage-treatment plant is a problem and the lake is littered with garbage. Local businessman Ganesh Kumar says even the exact dimensions of the lake are not known. “I filed RTIs in this regard, but got no reply.” A top Pallavaram Municipality official said the lake comes under the Water Resources Department and PWD sources said it is under their purview. “We blocked sewage flow through stormwater drains, but residents opposed this,” sources said.