CHENNAI: Setting an example for city residents, a group of people at Perungudi has taken up the task of restoring the Perungudi lake upon themselves by removing waste from the lake and planting saplings around it. The lake already in shambles was nothing but a vast dry land until the floods of 2015. “When the lake was filled to the brim after the floods, there was a fear among people if it will start overflowing and cause flooding in the homes around. But it didn’t,” said Suresh Kuppuswamy, one of the founding members of Planet (Perungudi Lake Area and Neighbourhood Environmental Transformation) association.
Only after the floods did we notice the vast extent of the lake and the garbage floating in it, he added. Suresh and several other environmentally conscious people, including the old, the young, and the kids, came together and united for a cause - to keep the lake clean, and alive. Now, every Saturday, 70 members of the association come together with the neighbours and volunteers to clean the lake.
“The kids are instrumental in planting saplings by the lake and also in watering them,” Suresh added, speaking about the association which became a registered organisation last year in July, and functions by the motto, ‘Preserve Nature, Secure Future.’ The water body that is spread across 57 acres is huge to tackle. People living in small tenements and the workers at the construction sites use it as toilets and bathrooms as they don’t have access to the same. This, Suresh adds, is the larger cause the group wants to work towards and spread awareness about.
To celebrate the spirit of the volunteers and to spread the message of conserving nature, Planet also organises a lake festival filled with a cultural programme every year coinciding with the Republic Day on January 26, to salute patriotism among the people. “It is a secular day and we organise programmes like tribal dance, rangoli and painting competitions, folk dances to bring people together. We want them to revere the lake like they revere their temples,” added Suresh. It should be something that belongs to them and fills them with pride, he added.
This year due to the jallikattu unrest, the programme was not held on January 26 and will be held on February 12 at Kamaraj Nagar in Perungudi. “Since the lake is huge, each year we celebrate the festival at different areas around the lake. People should understand that it is onto them along with the government departments like Chennai Corporation, PWD to maintain the city,” said Suresh.
Essay, poetry, and art competitions will be held and dances will be conducted to enthral the visitors, said Suresh, busy with making arrangements for setting up stalls for the event. He feels that this is a mission and must be taken forward, by children, parents and their families for a happier environment and future.
