Kallu Kuttai Lake is next to Tharamani and the during monsoon season, Its water spreads a long distance, connecting with the Pallikaranai marshland. But due to development in Velachery, and the laying of railway track, the lake size is reduced to 1.5km and its ecosystem is constantly facing threats. The highlight of this lake is that it never runs out of water and every year during the monsoon the water overflows and covers a large area connecting till the Pallikaranai marshland. During this time, the fish spread across and breed. This was never a problem in the 90s, but now due to the development along these regions, the streets get flooded and cause problems. In order to avoid this problem, the government decided to construct a flood drainage system and in 2013 it was completed near the Kallu Kuttai Lake and in the region of Velachery. This might prevent the filling of city streets with water during the monsoon season, but won’t it also affect the lake’s ecosystem?
Dead fishes in the Flood drainage system
How has the flood water drainage system impacted this Lake? Firstly, the flood water drainage system is now interconnected with the Kallu Kuttai Lake and the water flowing from the city interconnects with the lake. The drainage system laid is fully covered in concrete; and blocks our visibility of the water flowing, making it impossible for us to see if the water flowing through the drainage system is polluted or not. If this gets polluted, it could drastically impact the lake water and the ecosystem around it. There have been fishes sighted dead in one of the junctions where the drainage system from the city joins the lake and also in another junction where the drain water from nearby houses are connected to this system. This was noticed in few junctions where the flood water system was not completely covered with concrete.
Finally, this drainage system is not completed currently and it opens out into an area which connects to the Pallikaranai marshland. Once this drainage system is completed, the water flow will be redirected along the path of the drainage system and so will be the migrating pattern of the fishes from the lake. This will definitely impact the fish migration and confuse them, as there will be a lot of water flowing from the city, which may look like an upstream flow and a good breeding place in the eyes of fish. Without the fish in the lake the entire ecosystem of this lake will die.
Development is important, but should it be at the cost of our beautiful ecosystem? This flood drainage system, which was completed in a hurry due to pressure from the government, was never thought through the eyes of the ecosystem. This might look like nothing now, but in the future this could turn out to be one of the worst decisions made. Few suggestions to protect the lake would be; fencing along the water flowing region towards the drainage system to control fishing during the monsoon migration. Also, water pollution control and monitoring along the flow of water from the city and the inclusion of alternate methods to disperse the flood water so that the previous water flow system will not get affected. A few changes could definitely help protect this ecosystem filled with birds, reptiles and more. If we don’t fight for what we love, who will?
