Inflow of sewage from Tambaram into Chitlapakkam Lake pollutes groundwater

For the last two years, the water from the borewell in 40-year-old Lakshmi Krishnakumar’s residence, located barely a kilometre from the lake, is black in colour, getting darker as the days go by. 

Her numerous complaints to the Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat have fallen on deaf years, even as the former school principal – now a full-time social activist – tries to push the officials into finding a sustainable solution. 

“The Chitlapakkam Lake has already been severely polluted by the garbage dumped there by the Panchayat and the sewage from the locality. Over the last few years, the situation has gotten worse as the sewage inflow from Tambaram also enters the lake, polluting our ground water, which is black in colour now and cannot be used for any purpose,” she said. 

When Lakshmi moved to Chitlapakkam two decades ago, the lake was pristine and the water quality good. “The degradation started a decade ago, with the dumping of garbage, followed by sewage inflow. Now, the pollution of groundwater is a huge health concern for the residents. When we approach the Panchayat officials, they refuse to answer,” added the mother-of-two. 

The sewage inflow from Tambaram enters the Chitlapakkam lake at Periyar Street. Sunil Jayaram, a resident and member of Chitlapakkam Rising, a resident welfare association, said, “The sewage enters through the stormwater drain canal from Tambaram to Chitlapakkam, despite the former locality having an underground drainage system. We complained about this last year too but the Tambaram officials said that the sewage has been let into the lake after treatment – which is clearly not the case.”

The biomining of Chitlapakkam lake, which is underway, hasn’t convinced the residents, who said that the process is happening “at snail’s pace”. 

“Just a month ago, there was an accidental fire in the dump yard part of the lake. The officials assured us it will be taken up soon. If the work doesn’t begin in earnest by mid-July, the residents will take the legal route,” added Sunil. 

When contacted, an official from the Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat said that they are looking into the issue.