The vanishing lakes of Chennai

The city of Chennai is renowned for its myriad attributes, such as being the second oldest municipal corporation in the world, the iconic British establishments, and the longest beach in Asia, but not many know it for the large number of lakes and water tanks within the small area. I have grown up in a place with two lakes, 7-8 small ponds, 40-45 round wells, and a copious 100 acres of agricultural land in my neighborhood. Since my childhood (the early 2000s), the two lakes in our vicinity catered to the needs of our people in several ways like play ground during summer, a fishing ground during monsoon, a source of water for domestic use and agriculture, an open swimming pool for the kids and a place of recreation for elders in the evenings. My friends and I swam and played in the lake often, also bunk school, and hid around the bushes of water tanks. The only leisure place for most of us. I could say the COVID-19 lockdown was our final fun time with some mischievous activities. Ever since then, our lakes started to disappear due to the emergence of build-ups, and the remaining lake was deteriorated by pollutants.

The lakes of Chennai are called the chain of lakes or connected lakes, meaning the overflowed water from high-ground lakes flows into the low-lying lakes. The water moves from the West to East and reaches the final destination of the beaches in the Bay of Bengal. This connectivity of water includes the agricultural lands, small pocketed villages, barren lands (Porambokku), Pasteur lands, sacred groves, and temple lands. These lands mostly belonged to the government. These empty land area plays a major role in biodiversity, including numerous plants and animals livelihood of the local people of Chennai landscape. However, the evolving pressure on the mentioned areas has created immense pressure on the native people and biodiversity.

The empty lands (agricultural lands, barren, pastures, adjacent areas to lakes, and many water bodies) are converted into approved land plots for selling. Due to that, the water channels and water paths are shrinking. Where once 10-foot-wide water gutters existed, they are now only 2 to 3 feet due to ambitious ideas.

Why the water paths matters?

The water paths or water memory are the necessary and important routes of water movement; the landscape of Chennai (tectonic plates) is placed in a way from the West (higher elevation) and East (lower elevation). That means if there is an obstruction to water flow or shrinkage of the water path, the water will be clogged in a particular place and become a threat to human life and their livelihood. We have many past incidents that completely struck our daily lives and devasted the resources we had. But still, we haven't learned a bit from our past events. Soon, there is a kick start of North East monsoon, November 2023.

Are we prepared? 

Do we have any solutions for this?

We lost many of our lakes due to the poor water management system and the ever-growing density of humans in a particular locality. Those who are proud of Chennai and benefit from this city are also responsible for its water management system. 

The water is also connected to the roads; whenever there is rainfall, the roads get spoiled, which is also the reason for the economy in some way. Everything is interconnected. If we are not protecting our lakes, agricultural lands, and water paths, then there is no sense in investing in our roads and drainages. 

Photo courtesy: Reuters and PTI

The blame is not to blame. Everyone is aware of nature, catastrophic events, and climate change. People are aware, but there is a lack of self-discipline, a knowledge bridge, and poor policy-making and funding. 

The lost hope in water management and land acquisition in the ever-growing urban landscape is in the hands of young people. 

Are we going to ask, care for our land or keep quiet???

Climate change is happening!!!

(Thirumurugan V)

Reviewed by: Karthy S, Researcher, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun