Activists await for sanctions from government to restore Chinnavedampati lake, says Athikadavu Avinashi phase II project would be of major benefit
Coimbatore: Gazing at the sky and expecting reply from the government over the proposal of 30 crore that submitted during the year 2020 through Public Work Department to restore Chinnavedampati lake, organisers and activists say they have been waiting for the previous government to sanction the amount for the restoration of the lake for many years now.
Spread across 200 acres, this lake at the Chinnavedampatti is said to be the latest one that has been installed in the Coimbatore district in 1980. The rest are much older than this. This lake served the people of Kalapatti and its neighbouring places with water thirty years ago. However, the water in it has dried now due to the lack of ability to protect it.
Albeit the organisers and activists say that they have been waiting for the sanction of their proposal, they also say that the government must include this lake under Athikadavu Avinashi Groundwater Recharge Project.
“We request the government to consider this lake and include this under the phase two project of Athikadavu Avinashi Groundwater Recharge Project to help this lake in recharging the groundwater and also to serve drinking water and fulfill the water needs” said Sivaraj, Chinnavedampatti Lake restoration organizer.
Saying that this lake gets water from Mangarai, Somanur, Anaikatti and Chinna Thadagam, Sivaraj also said that the check dams built between lakes for water conservation and percolation is another problem as it needs to be given rebirth.
To avoid water flowing into the waste land and for the usage of brick kilns in Thadagam valley, he said the organization has brought in several college students to study on it to stop the water discharge.
Waters have been flowing through the catchment area and however with the help of college students and others we managed to find the feeder canal of the lake using a catchment survey map, Sivaraj told.
The lake has also cited as many as 108 different species of seasonal birds. According to Ebird, a biodiversity related science project that sights birds by bird watchers, say that in February 2021 the lake observed four kinds of species.
Ponmoorthy Ramasamy, birdwatcher noted that the lake observed Rose ringed parakeet, Common Myna, Greater Coucal (southern) Common Hawk- Cuckoo.
Stressing on the importance of birds requiring water, the organizers have planned to construct a water tank inside the lake.
It is also said that this lake has also not been spared as it receives drainage flow from Thudiyalur and Vellaikinaru. The organizers so far spent 50 lakh sourced through CSR, Crowdfunding and government for the welfare of the lake.
Over 300 volunteers have joined together in a lake restoration project for the last 170 weeks, uprooting more than three tons of seemai karuvelam tree and planting 300 different kinds of country trees. At present the lake is fenced in order to save it from encroachment.
When asked how the volunteers would be able to work during the lockdown, the organizer Selvaraj said the lake has been taken care of by the local people and thus it does not require any immediate action as it is managed well. The volunteers worked on the restoration project on Sunday’s from 7:00 to 9:00 am.
Spread across 200 acres, this lake at the Chinnavedampatti is said to be the latest one that has been installed in the Coimbatore district in 1980. The rest are much older than this. This lake served the people of Kalapatti and its neighbouring places with water thirty years ago. However, the water in it has dried now due to the lack of ability to protect it.
Albeit the organisers and activists say that they have been waiting for the sanction of their proposal, they also say that the government must include this lake under Athikadavu Avinashi Groundwater Recharge Project.
“We request the government to consider this lake and include this under the phase two project of Athikadavu Avinashi Groundwater Recharge Project to help this lake in recharging the groundwater and also to serve drinking water and fulfill the water needs” said Sivaraj, Chinnavedampatti Lake restoration organizer.
Saying that this lake gets water from Mangarai, Somanur, Anaikatti and Chinna Thadagam, Sivaraj also said that the check dams built between lakes for water conservation and percolation is another problem as it needs to be given rebirth.
To avoid water flowing into the waste land and for the usage of brick kilns in Thadagam valley, he said the organization has brought in several college students to study on it to stop the water discharge.
Waters have been flowing through the catchment area and however with the help of college students and others we managed to find the feeder canal of the lake using a catchment survey map, Sivaraj told.
The lake has also cited as many as 108 different species of seasonal birds. According to Ebird, a biodiversity related science project that sights birds by bird watchers, say that in February 2021 the lake observed four kinds of species.
Ponmoorthy Ramasamy, birdwatcher noted that the lake observed Rose ringed parakeet, Common Myna, Greater Coucal (southern) Common Hawk- Cuckoo.
Stressing on the importance of birds requiring water, the organizers have planned to construct a water tank inside the lake.
It is also said that this lake has also not been spared as it receives drainage flow from Thudiyalur and Vellaikinaru. The organizers so far spent 50 lakh sourced through CSR, Crowdfunding and government for the welfare of the lake.
Over 300 volunteers have joined together in a lake restoration project for the last 170 weeks, uprooting more than three tons of seemai karuvelam tree and planting 300 different kinds of country trees. At present the lake is fenced in order to save it from encroachment.
When asked how the volunteers would be able to work during the lockdown, the organizer Selvaraj said the lake has been taken care of by the local people and thus it does not require any immediate action as it is managed well. The volunteers worked on the restoration project on Sunday’s from 7:00 to 9:00 am.