Restoration of Kolathur tank and Retteri Lake in Chennai!!
Posted on: 09/Mar/2022 9:48:58 AM
Issues in funding and acquisition of lands have been the reasons for the delay in the restoration of Kolathur tank and Retteri Lake in Chennai.
For many years, the proposals about restoring the Kolathur tank and building a new channel to carry surplus water from Retteri Lake have been pending is well known to us. Fact is that the proposals gained importance as they could reduce the flooding in and around Kolathur and Retteri. A project was planned by the WRD to construct a new channel from one of the weirs of Retteri Lake and link it to the Red Hills reservoir`s surplus course near Vadaperumbakkam.
Excess water from the lake spilled over to the nearby areas like Balaji Nagar, Arignar Anna Nagar, Macro Marvel Nagar etc. It is worthy to mention here that WRD has planned to build an 80m wide channel to carry up to 3000 cusecs of water. The sources have pointed out that around 30acres of land was required to be acquired to implement the project. Point is that a major share of the project could go towards acquisition of lands and it was difficult to find a funding agency.
For more than 2 decades, various schemes to bring the missing link between Retteri and RedHills surplus course remained a non-starter. This was mainly due to issues associated with land acquisition and compensation etc. It must be noted that the Kolathur Lake has shrunk in its size due to urbanisation and it has been heavily encroached upon. Absence of proper inlet has resulted in the flooding in the neighbouring localities.
From the original 175 acres, Kolathur Lake has shrunk to 15 acres now. This has been highlighted in the WRD records. Demarcation of the lake boundary has been going on and is not yet over. Information is that the project aimed to restore the existing extent of the lake and around 100 acres of water body could be reclaimed with a resettlement plan. Truth is that encroachment removal and funding has been the issue.
It was mentioned by Mr. Boopal, general secretary, federation of 200feet road resident�s welfare associations that the floodwater from areas upstream like Vivekananda Nagar and Korattur Lake reached Kolathur Lake. Point to be noted is that the missing links in the course carrying floodwater to the lake lead to water logging. Sewage pollution and waste disposal from a nearby fish market also created issues for this lake.
