Chennai: The porur The lake, one of the city’s most encroached water bodies, is to be restored for Rs 100 crore.
The state Public Works Department (PWD) has started the project which consists of four different components including an additional channel, which is expected to prevent flooding in half a dozen surrounding areas.
A senior PWD official said restoration of the surplus channel covered over the past several years would involve the creation of a regulator. The surplus of the lake used to pass through leased land before being converted into residential colonies, complicating the issue with the newly constructed Chennai Bypass. Areas such as Koluthuvancheri, Srinivasapuram, Baraniputtur, Pattur and Ayyappanthangal had been flooded regularly, including in November last year.
Now, a covered channel will be laid between Thanthikalavai and Surplus channel at Kolathuvanchery and between the lake and Ramapuram drain, along with box culverts for taking up the surplus. The official said that after the restoration, excess water from the lake will flow into the Ramapuram drain and flow into the Adyar.
Another official said the project is scheduled to be completed in six months, but added that the selected contractor was asked to finish it before the onset of the northeast monsoon in mid-October. The project, once completed, will ensure that Dhanalakshmi Nagar, Kumara NagarSri Sai Nagar, Madhuram Nagar, Jyoti NagarBalaji Nagar, Srinivasapuram and Mangadu, which are close to the lake, along with Koluthuvanchery, Srinivasapuram, Baraniputhur, Pattur, Periyapancheri, Ayyappanthangal, GerugambakkamHe said that Kollappakkam, Madhanandapuram, Mugalivakkam and Manappakkam would be free from waterlogging during monsoon.
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