The New Indian Express 12.10.2010
City’s major water source under threat
CHENNAI: The piped water you get at home could be laced with toxins if a proposal by five municipalities and a town panchayat to set up a compost yard in Kuthambakkam village comes through. For, the project site falls within the catchment area of the Chembarambakkam Lake, which is Chennai’s major drinking water source.Water from more than 30 lakes in Thiruvallur district flows into the Chembarambakkam Lake through this catchment area where the compost yard is proposed.
“Every drop of water from the compost yard carrying the pollutants will drain into the lake,” said Elango Ramasamy, former chemical engineer at CSIR and former president of Kuthambakkam village. The yard will also end up polluting the ground water, which is as high as the ground level — a rare occurrence in Chennai.
The project was conceived by five municipalities — Ambattur, Maduravoyal, Tiruverkadu, Poonamallee and Valsaravakkam — and Porur town panchayat.
“When the municipalities were asked how they will prevent seepage of rainwater from the yard into the lake, the authorities replied that a compound wall had been constructed. How on earth will a wall prevent the seepage of rainwater?” wondered advocate T K Ramkumar.
And despite a TNPCB expert committe saying the site was not suitable for the facility, the board gave it a no-objection certificate.
