The periphery of Korattur lake, one of the major waterbodies in western parts of the city, was cleaned of plastic and other waste by volunteers on Friday. This time, local fishermen, who depend on the lake for their livelihood, pitched in for the clean-up operation.
On Friday morning, nearly 80 local fishermen cleaned the lake along with Korattur Aeri Padhukappu Makkal Iyakkam (KAPMI), a citizens’ group involved in protecting the lake’s environment.
The lake, which is on the road to recovery, continues to be a source of livelihood for about 250 fishermen families in surrounding areas such as Kallikuppam, Korattur Agraharam and Karukku.
The fishermen noted that with the quality of water deteriorating, it had also led to a decline in fish varieties available in the lake. M.Vinod, a fisherman from Kallikuppam said, “Until a decade ago, we used to catch nearly 25 varieties of fishes in the lake. It has largely reduced to a few varieties and consumers also hesitate to buy fish from the lake.”
Local fishermen must be given priority for fishing in the lake, he said complaining that the auction of fishing rights was done without consultation or prior information.
“We joined hands with the KAPMI to create awareness on improving the lake’s environment. Plugging of sewage outfalls completely will help improve water quality and better fish catch,” he said.
Members of KAPMI alleged that the lake was often used as a dumping yard for liquor bottles and plastic waste mostly by visitors to the nearby Tasmac shop.
S. Sekaran, KAPMI’s secretary, said: “Fishermen too frequently visited the lake. We decided to involve them in the cleaning efforts with the support of the police and the Water Resources Department. We collected about 80 sacks of non-biodegradable waste in a stretch of 2 km on the eastern side of the lake. There are plans to continue such activities to raise awareness about the significance of keeping the waterbody clean.”
