NGO will convene at Valluvar Kottam to address silted water bodies
Posted on: 27/Aug/2016 12:46:27 PM
The Arappor Iyakkam along with 25 other resident welfare associations will meet on Sunday at Valluvar Kottam. They will call attention to the silted lake and canals across Chennai. The NGO has carried out a social audit of four major waterways in the flood prone areas in the city.
The audit has specified urgent action as part of flood preparedness. It has also shown that the city water bodies are not prepared to handle rainfall as they are choked with garbage and plastic. According to the report, lakes remain infested with silt and water hyacinth, in addition to the encroachments that have caused the water bodies to shrink. The audit has shown that Villivakkam and Ambattur lakes had shrunk by 80 per cent in size over last 50 years.
Speaking about this, the convenor of the Arappor Iyakkam said, If we as citizens do not take preventive action, the city will come to a standstill like last year. Government agencies, elected representatives and the civil society need to work together to make the city flood-ready. We have formed a panel consisting of retired bureaucrat Devasagayam, Madras high court-appointed amicus curiae advocate Suresh, retired PWD engineer Thirunaavukkarasu, IIT professor Sudarshan Padmanabhan and advocate Sudha Ramalingam to address public grievances at the hearing and prepare a report which is to be submitted to the government.
