The flood alert issued by the state PWD in view of the approaching Cyclone Thane has highlighted the need to revive our water bodies, most of which have now been encroached upon. However, activists, who complain about encroachments of water bodies, are also confident that the AIADMK government led by J. Jayalalitha would pitch in to save them. The chief minister has already sanctioned Rs 130 crore to deepen or ‘restore’ Porur, Ayanampakkam, Nemam and Cholavaram lakes and enhance the storage capacity by an additional 568 mcft (million cubic feet). “It is really important,” says Shekar Raghavan of the Rain Water Harvesting Centre. “Proper maintenance of water bodies such as traditional yeris will not just ensure that the floods are handled properly but will also help save the water for summer” Rag-havan says.

“The situation is pathetic” says Ayanavaram Ram-adoss, president of North Chennai Exnora. “The encroachments on water bodies lead to various problems and efforts to remove them in the past have not yielded any result. We need political will to deal with this kind of situation.” Exnora’s founder president M.B. Nirmal feels the chief minister has the political will to do it. “We hope she will intervene and set things right” he says. Chennai has almost lost 40 per cent of its water bodies, including the Pallika-ranai marshland that accounts for a majority of its waterspread. Hundreds of lakes in Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur district face extinction and there is an immediate need for protecting the remaining water bodies, says K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust.

Courtesy : www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/chennai/save-water-bodies-activists-cm-490