The western suburb of Chennai is a world on it’s own, at it’s best. The crisscrossing highways keep the neighborhood busy, amidst all those hectic movement of people, goods and dust there are secret ecological hotspots in this part of town.
The more one wanders off the set routes of Western Chennai, the more one discovers. Koladi is one such a accidental yet pleasant discovery for us at E.F.I.
A detour due to a closed route, led to us spotting one of Chennai’s lost water bodies. The Koladi lake is a treasure trove that is being exploited by a greedy few. A lake that has it in her to be a vital life saving water source is today nothing but a lake in a ‘Deep mess.’
- Illegal sand mining over the years has left craters resembling the moon
- Prosopis julifora weeds grown so big that one wonders if they have been here since the Dinosaurs
- Mounds of toxic waste dumped away from public view into the craters behind the tall thorny bush
- Happy citizens who enjoy a crisp beverage to get high amidst the deep mess.
40+ acres and the potential that this lake can be developed into a neighborhood water pocket to quench the never ending thirst of Chennai is still hanging in the balance.
A collaboration is in the offing and initial efforts have begun to revive the Koladi lake. The Tiruvallur collectorate as administrative partner, TVS group through Rotary club of Madras as machine-fuel donor and E.F.I as the design-implementation partner. Through the weeks we will share update on the progress in restoration. In the first week we have started removing the invasive weeds and are in the process of rediscovering more about the Koladi lake.
Once the Covid lockdown is relaxed, you now know where to explore. Western Chennai and her lakes need us more than ever before. The more you and I frequent to these lakes (responsibly), the less exploitation they go through. By volunteering with us, do support to explore and conserve India’s water bodies.
Spot the lake
Volunteer for India & her Environment with E.F.I, Jai Hind.
Super work sir!!