After submitting representations to candidates during the Assembly election campaign, residents of Sembakkam have now approached the Chengalpattu district administration, seeking the restoration of Sembakkam Lake, and wanted various other demands also be addressed after the election results.

Residents said that they had been fighting for the rejuvenation of the lake, a major groundwater recharge source, for over two decades now. Though a new channel was built to convey rainwater from Chitlapakkam Lake, sewage from neighbouring areas flowed into the Sembakkam Lake through the channel and stormwater drains.