Velachery aeri ( ta, வேளச்சேரி ஏரி), or Velachery lake, is one of the lakes inside

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 ...

, in the

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 ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, with a good stock of water all through the year. Since Velachery is a low-lying area, the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

rain water from the neighbouring areas are drained into this lake. The ambitious programme of the corporation was conceived three years ago. The local body had even engaged a consultant, shortlisted by experts from Anna University, Public Works Department and the agriculture department. The consultant gave a detailed plan in October last on how to beautify the lake. This included removal of encroachments in Gandhi Nagar and Ambedkar Nagar, fencing of the entire waterbody, provision of three decks for walking, viewing and fishing and a boating jetty. The consultant also suggested plantation of African grass, reed and bamboo along the middle deck and flowering plants and trees like bottlebrush, bougainvillea, royal palms and areca nut betel palms along the upper deck. The rapid pace of real estate development in the last two decades resulted in the shrinking of the waterbody from 265 acres to 55 acres now. The government allocated 53 acres to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board and 34 acres to the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board for housing development. Local residents have expressed concerns that the encroachers on Erikkarai Street in Gandhi Nagar, who don't have sewage connections, are contributing to the pollution of the lake.

See also