Five years back, the Chitlapakkam Lake was just a landfill with water hyacinth all over, garbage and sewage only. The residents here were totally unhappy. The dream of many residents belonging to Chitlapakkam in south Chennai has become a reality now.
The famous lake here has caught the attention of many now. Point is that the lake has been restored and it has become a source of pride for the residents here. There is some space for kids and elders available here plus the lake has become home for hundreds of birds.
The birds have been coming in huge numbers this year compared to 2023. This was brought out by Mr. Dayanand Kirshnan, an activist. He spoke about how this lake has become a great example for urban lake restoration and a source of pride for the locality.
It must be remembered that in the 1980s residences and localities began developing around the lake. In the 90s when the TN govt announced a housing project on the lake the residents came together to safeguard the lake. As per another activist named Viswanathan it was confirmed that the TN govt dropped the project in 1994. In 2019, the state govt proposed restoration of Chitlapakkam Lake at an amount of Rs 25 crores.
Various restoration activities that were carried out were desilting of lake, strengthening of bunds, removal of garbage and sewage outlets were sealed etc.
It must be noted that many birds such as little cormorant, white throated kingfisher, Indian spot billed duck etc came to this lake and this was as per a bird watcher. He added that he was able to do bird watching activity in the lake now instead of going to Vedanthangal or Pallikaranai etc. Moreover, the forest dept of TN have planted more than 1000 trees here.