Kollam: Ashtamudi Lake clean-up begins
Inland Navigation Department launches first phase of the project.
Kollam: In a ray of hope to the polluted Ashtamudi Lake that has been turned into a dump yard of urban effluents, the first phase of project to clean the lake by the Inland Navigation Department has been launched. The accumulated waste deposits and water weed in some 5000 cubic meter area near the Ashramam Link road will be removed initially.
The floating waste has been removed as part of the first phase and works to deepen the lake by removing sediments will be commenced soon. A dredger that can be connected to a barge will reach Kollam for the purpose.
Weeds have been removed using an aqua weed harvester. "It was a tough task for the workers to clean up the area. They worked for at least eight hours an hour, removing slaughter house wastes dumped in the lake and tonnes of plastic waste. The works were carried out despite sewage outlets opened to the Lake emitted stinking smell," an officer with the department said.
The splitter also stopped working intermittently as its blades got struck in clothes and sacks that were dumped in the Lake. The department is on the mission spending Rs. 10.5 lakhs.