Tirunelveli, the Halwa Town, is a city in South India blessed with a diverse ecosystem. According to Tamil Literature, Tirunelveli is divided in to 5 landscapes; the Mountains or hill areas are known as “Kurinji”, the forests as “Mullai”, the plains as “Marutham”, the sea and the seashore as “Neithal” and the deserts as “Paalai”. Naturally, being graced with all that the environment has to offer, the region attracted several inhabitants to make a life in Tirunelveli.

As years passed by, this turned out to become more of a bane than a boon. Several industries and factories found their way into this untapped ecosystem, causing a massive distress on the ecological balance. Water bodies, the providers of water, was majorly impacted by this. Lakes and ponds soon became dumpyards and barren lands with a rampant growth of invasive weeds such as Prosopis juliflora and thorny shrubs.

Water bodies that were once habitats were completely lost or diminishing from the city. The Udayarpatti Lake, located in an urban set-up was one such water body. With administrative support from the Government of Tamil Nadu, E.F.I had taken on the restoration of the the lake! Take a look at all that happened during this restoration.

Check out what the local residents had to say about this restoration!

We thank all our volunteers and the community for strengthening our efforts!

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