A collaborative conservation effort to restore the Madhavaram Oma Kulam.

மாதவரம் ஓம குளம் புனரமைப்பு பணி.

In a collaborative effort to revive a lost waterbody in the Madhavaram area, the civil society organizations volunteer with the Greater Chennai Corporation to revive the Oma Kulam pond.

The effort is aimed at reviving water habitats and maintaining them as biodiversified hotspots. A community based conservation model focused on involving the general public in conserving freshwater bodies. A large number of small ponds which once were water recharge structures are today being converted in to dumping grounds and are later built upon. This leads to depletion of ground water sources and has led to water scarcity, seasonal flooding. Civil society groups City Connect and the Environmentalist Foundation of India in association with the Greater Chennai Corporation took on the task of completely reviving the Madhavaram Oma Kulam. The restoration is 95% complete and has been completed in the last 49 days.

The restoration involved the following stages:

1. Clean up of physical garbage from the pond. The Greater Chennai corporation through a dedicated effort removed the entire load of trash from the pond area.

Post removal of trash by the G.C.C, E.F.I completed the following efforts.

1. Removal of invasive weeds
2. Desilting the pond to deepen and increase water holding area
3. Establish the Box Pit for Rain Water Harvesting
4. Raise the bunds of the pond to prevent future encroachment and storage of water
5. Native species plantations on the bund to ensure increased green cover

Advantages of a clean pond include:

1. Temperature regulation
2. Ground water percolation
3. Prevention of waterborne diseases
4. Localized climate change combat

Volunteer for India & her Environment with E.F.I.

-Jai Hind-