Wild vegetation being cleared on estuarine zone in Foreshore Estate

Work has begun on clearing the wild scrub vegetation on the eastern zone of the Adyar river estuary which falls under the Foreshore Estate area. JCBs were seen clearing the vegetation on Friday and Saturday.

The water is now at a low level, though its level depends on the sea tide but with the current work underway, the massive spread of waste, garbage and silt in this backwater zone is very evident.

The clearance may well signal the start of the next phase of the river restoration project; the first part saw the development of what is now known as the Adyar Poonga on the other side of the main road.

What was once a dump of waste, polluted and poisoned was revitalized during the DMK party’s governance. Now this area, off limits for the public abounds in native vegetation and is home to birds and animals.

The eastern side project will pose huge challenges since on its fringe, is a sprawling neighbourhood of poor people who live in hundreds of small tenements on the seashore side of this area.