The Retteri Lake in North Chennai could soon be desilted and cleared of encroachments and water hyacinth, with the dumping of garbage stopped and the water holding capacity increased.
The water resources department has been sanctioned Rs 44 crore to ensure the protection of the Retter (twin water bodies in Tamil), comprising the Madhavaram inlet channel and Manali Lake. Tenders have been floated and are expected to be finalised by month-end before the work is taken up by the first week of August.
The first task will be to remove nearly 40 illegal structures occupying a portion of the lake.
A perimeter wall will then be constructed for a distance of 3km to protect and help avoid the dumping of garbage on the western side. On the eastern side, close to Grand Northern Trunk Road, pillars will come up and a fence erected.
Officials will then desilt and deepen the twin water bodies, increasing the holding capacity from 32 million cubic feet (mcft) to 45.13 mcft.
A total of 6 lakh cubic meters of silt will be removed from the deposits used for creating two islands.
One will be 200 metres wide, 200 metres long, and 10 metres, while the other will be 160 metres wide, 160 metres long, and 10 metres tall, he said. Silt removed from the Madhavaram inlet channel and the foreshore area will be used for strengthening the existing bund.
The invasive water hyacinth, an invasive species which reduces oxygen levels for fish and is the ideal habitat for disease-carrying mosquitoes, will be cleared.
Residents of the surrounding areas can also expect to get an enhanced water supply once the project is completed.
Until about four years ago, one million litres of water a day (MLD) was drawn from the twin water bodies by Metrowater, pumped to its Kolathur treatment plant, and then supplied to households in the vicinity. This was later stopped.
Now, after the restoration project is completed, the drawl of water for distribution to residential areas in the vicinity can resume, the official added.
Source & image courtesy: https://bit.ly/44HYesi
