Kumaraswamy Lake (Muthannan Kualm) at Chinnavedampatty has been cleaned, thanks to the efforts of the Environmentalist Foundation of India with sanction from the Coimbatore district administration.

It was a three-hour efforts by people from different walks of life who volunteered for the cleaning operations on Sunday morning.

The work involved removing non-biodegradable trash dumped in the lake front. This included polythene, rubber, thermocol, abandoned clothing and footwear.

The will be followup on these efforts with volunteering getting involved every Sunday throughout the year till all the trash around the place is removed.

Public sensitisation campaigns were also organised simultaneously to prevent future dumping. The effort is aimed at reviving water habitats and maintaining them as biodiversified hotspots. It is a community-based conservation model focused on involving the general public in conserving freshwater bodies.

“We are planning to conduct various activities for the upcoming Environmental Day on June 5. There will be activities on three days starting June 3. There are also plans for a ‘Green Gramam’ aimed at converting an entire village into green near Thondamuthur,” EFI Tanjavur Delta Co-ordinator Aravindh told Covai Post.

Regarding Sunday’s cleanup, EFI volunteer Anand Pritviraj said volunteers joined the around 20 corporation cleaners. Besides, plastic waste, there were flower wastes, twigs, glass materials.

Students and company staff joined in the operations.

More than 500 straws from a juice shop were found in the area and Coimbatore Sanitary Officer K.V.Thirumal ordered closure of such shops as they were found to be cause for polluting the lake, he added.