Perungudi residents wade in as water hyacinth returns to the lake after 10 years
Residents in Perungudi are working to clear an invasive water hyacinth infestation that has returned to the local lake after a decade. The community group PLANET is calling for government intervention to address pollution and sewage discharge causing the weed's growth.
Why it matters
The return of invasive species serves as an indicator of declining water quality and the failure of urban environmental management.
Perungudi Lake, which had not seen water hyacinths for nearly a decade, has witnessed their rapid spread for the first time in recent months, raising concerns among members of the Perungudi Lake Area Neighbourhood Environment Transformation (PLANET) Association over the lake’s water quality and ecosystem.
PLANET members organised a lake-cleaning programme on Saturday to manually remove water hyacinth. The association hoped the exercise and wider public attention would prompt the Greater Chennai Corporation, Public Works Department (PWD), and Water Resources Department (WRD) to extend support for clearing the weed and protecting the lake.
Shaju John of PLANET said the invasive weed, which grows mainly in contaminated water, was restricting water movement, increasing stagnation and reducing oxygen levels in the lake. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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