Chetpet lake (Chethupattu Aeri) is a lake spread over 16 acres in

Chetput Chetpet is a locality in the Indian city of Chennai It is served by Chetpet railway station in the Beach–Tambaram line of Chennai Suburban Railway. Chetpet has a pond between the Chetpet railway station and the Poonamallee High Road, one of the ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located to the north of

Chetpet railway station Chetpet Railway Station, also spelt as Chetput Railway Station, is one of the railway stations of the Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhood of Chetpet. It is situated adjacent ...

. It is the only existing lake at the centre of the city. The lake belongs to the Department of Fisheries of the Tamil Nadu government. Of the total area of the lake, the waterbody is spread across 9.1 acres and the land area covers 6.9 acres. An anglers club was functioning till the 1940s in the lake, whose members visited the small island in the midst of the waterbody for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. Although not used for drinking purposes, the lake was a source of

groundwater recharge Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...

for the surrounding areas. As the water quality is not

saline Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...

, the lake has a few varieties of fishes such as

rohu The rohu, rui, ruhi or roho labeo (''Labeo rohita'') is a species of fish of the carp family, found in rivers in South Asia. It is a large omnivore and extensively used in aquaculture. Description The rohu is a large, silver-colored fish o ...

catla Catla (''Labeo catla''), ( bn, কাতলা, translit=kātlā) also known as the major South Asian carp, is an economically important South Asian freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is native to rivers and lakes in northern Ind ...

and

mrigal The mrigal carp (''Cirrhinus cirrhosus''), ( bn, মৃগেল, translit=mrigél) also known as the white carp, is a species of ray-finned fish in the carp family. Native to streams and rivers in India, the only surviving wild population is in ...

. Breeding is monitored to assess the water quality.

History

In 1934, the lake was taken over by the Department of Fisheries to conduct research. In the following decade, a hydro-biological research station was set up to conduct studies in fisheries. Fishing as a sporting activity began at the lake with the formation of Madras Anglers Club in 1962. In the dry summer months of 2019, about 4,500 cubic metres of silt was dredged. These were used to strengthen the bund.

The lake today

In recent years, the lake has been heavily encroached upon, particularly near the

. There have been many plans to rejuvenate Chetpet lake since the mid-1990s, including developing a boat club, an aquarium, seafood stall and fish court besides a walkway around the waterbody. The last attempt to save the lake was in 2005, when the state environment department identified it along with 12 other lakes of Greater Chennai area for an eco-restoration project. The CPR Environmental Education Centre conducted a detailed survey, and based on that, the state government appointed the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Finance Services Limited to prepare a project report. The State government had sanctioned 4 million to clean the overgrown

water hyacinth ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.

Developments

In May 2012, the Chennai Corporation Council adopted a resolution to construct a 1,475-m-long stormwater drain from the lake to the

Cooum river The Cooum river, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal. This river is about in length, flowing in the city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly pollute ...

at a cost of 22.9 million to carry excess water during monsoon. The drain would pass through New Bhoopathy Nagar,

Pachaiyappa's College Pachaiyappa's College is one of the oldest educational institutions in Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In addition, it is the first sole Indian college in Madras Presidency. History Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai is the resul ...

play ground and Venkatachalapathy Street. This is to prevent flooding in the

Kilpauk Medical College Government Kilpauk Medical College (GKMC), founded in 1960, is a government medical institution in India. There are four hospitals attached to GKMC - Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. They are Government Royapettah Hospital, Govern ...

area.

A building to house a stall of the Fisheries Development Corporation is also coming up by the side of the lake at a cost of 60 million. The three-storey building will comprise two fish heads, facing north and west, joined by a fin and a tail. The heads will be made of light-weight material. The building will accommodate the offices of the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation, Tamil Nadu State Apex Fisheries Cooperative Federation and the chief engineer of the fisheries department. In April 2013, Chief Minister

J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

announced developing the lake with facilities for angling, water sports, boating and open-air auditoriums at a cost of 420 million. The lake shore will have an eco park with 1.5-km long track for walkers and joggers and children's play area, in addition to a seafood restaurant and multilevel parking space to accommodate 200 cars. The eco-park is dotted with 30 stone sculptures. Other facilities include acupressure walkway, elevation aquarium, 3D film show, and a virtual reality centre on marine life. Parts of the project include an elevated link between

and the eco park, infrastructure connecting

Poonamallee High Road EVR Periyar Salai (EVR High Road), earlier known as Poonamallee High Road (NH 48) and originally the Grand Western Trunk Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It is the longest road in Chennai. Running from east to west, the road start ...

with the park, and construction of a box culvert beneath the railway tracks to connect the lake with

Cooum River The Cooum river, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal. This river is about in length, flowing in the city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly pollute ...

near Spur Tank Road. The park is being planned in a 15-acre area adjoining the lake. The foundation stone for the park was laid in June 2014.

Gallery

File:Chetput Pond1.JPG File:Chetput Pond.jpg File:Pond at Chetput1.JPG

References

{{Hydrography of Chennai Lakes of Chennai Tourist attractions in Chennai Sport in Chennai Boathouses in Chennai Lakes of Tamil Nadu

History

The lake today

Developments

Gallery

See also

References