In pictures: Chennai’s lakes get monsoon ready

The Environmentalist Foundation of India in collaboration with the Greater Chennai Corporation has been restoring lakes around Chennai. Here are the transformations of some lakes in pictures.

The administrative backing strengthening civic society volunteering towards water conservation. Chennai sets a water standard for India.

Collaboration is the key to conservation. When cause is the hero, any project, no matter the difficulty or challenges ahead, is executed perfectly. Our cause has been and will always be water conservation. We thank the Greater Chennai Corporation for providing support in the water conservation projects in the city of Chennai.

Take a look at the #Eco-Restoration projects under the GCC-E.F.I collaboration.

Anaikeni Pond, Sholinganallur

Located in the I.T. Hub in Chennai, the Anaikeni Pond is going through scientific restoration prior to the 2020 North-East Monsoons. We at E.F.I thank all those who supported this pond restoration effort.

Watch this video to know more!

Before

Work in Progress

After

Kannagi Nagar Lake, Thoraipakkam

The Kannagi Nagar Lake adjacent to OMR was taken up for Eco-restoration. Today with its newly strengthened bunds and deepened water holding area, the waterbody is once again becoming the identity of the locality!

Before

Work in Progress

After

Kannan Kulam, Thoraipakkam

A gym and a religious structure that were occupying the pond area were removed with support from all the residents in the neighborhood. The citizens have been keen on reviving this waterbody and the pond is now all ready for the NE Monsoons of 2019.

The Kannan Kulam today is a cleaner, reclaimed and levelled pond with optimized storage and stronger embankments.

Before

Work in Progress

After

Karuppan Kulam, Ambattur

 A sleepy suburban pond got a magical transformation through a collaborative community-based environment conservation effort!

The pond that became a dumpyard is now a revamped pond again. A central circular recharge pit, triangular recharge shafts and more in this revived water body are the unique features.

Before

Work in Progress

After

Madhanakuppam Pond, Ambattur

Madhanakuppam pond was revived in a matter of 60 days! Locked in an abandoned roadways project site, was this exploited water body. Through dedicated efforts, the pond is now back to life. 

Before

Work in Progress

After

[This post was originally published in the blog of Environmentalist Foundation of India and has been republished with permission]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Explained: How Mumbai is losing its tree cover to infrastructure projects

Mumbai's landscape is changing with big infra projects. Experts suggest better use of government plots and improved street design to retain green cover.

Long before Mumbai’s relentless summer even began this year, the city was already simmering. In March, Mumbai was hit by a severe heatwave, with the temperature reaching a five-year high of 40° Celsius. As rapid urbanisation and a flurry of infrastructure projects replace dense tree cover with steel and mortar, heatwaves seem to have gone from being rare occurrences to an annual threat.   The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) cut a whopping 3,093 trees in Aarey Colony to make way for Mumbai’s Aqua Line ( Metro 3). For environmentalist Stalin Dayanand, this is not just a temporary problem.…

Similar Story

Notes from the field: Why Begur Lake is losing its waterbirds

71% of waterbirds at Begur Lake are declining. A visit to one of Bengaluru’s rapidly deteriorating lakes shows what's causing the collapse.

During the Open City biodiversity datajam held in December 2025, our group examined the ecological trends around Bengaluru’s lakes. Our analysis suggests a majority of waterbirds are declining across the city's lakes. Earlier, we addressed crucial questions on how migrant and resident waterbirds are surviving across 14 of Bengaluru’s lakes, how the shape of the lakes influence microhabitats, and how a scoring system can be used to record the decline in lake quality and bird populations. The last of our four-part series turns its attention to an individual site. As part of this study of waterbirds in 14 city lakes,…