The civic body kick-started a cleaning drive in the lake on Sunday. Mayor P Rajkumar inaugurated the drive in the morning.

"On Sunday, the corporation collected four trucks full of garbage from the tank. Most of the garbage was non-degradable plastic. This cleaning drive will continue for a few weeks," said director of community education Vinny Peter.

Vinny said the civic body would clean the tank once a week. "We have decided to plant 1,000 saplings around the tank," she said.

In February this year, the mayor declared the Singanallur Tank as an Urban Nature Interpretation and Education Centre. "As many as 676 species of birds, butterflies and plants have been identified in and around the tank. This gives us an opportunity to use the tank as a platform to teach students about nature," she said.

The corporation plans to take schoolchildren to the tank area and hold teaching sessions for them. "Students from corporation schools and other schools will be taken to the tank for the sessions," Vinny added.