Mugavai oorani, a massive waterbody with a spread of 22.76 acres, at the centre of the town behind ‘Aranmanai’ (palace) is being desilted and given a facelift for the first time in 325 years.
The tank, dug during the reign of Vijaya Ragunatha Kilavan Sethupathy, the first Raja of Ramnad, between 1675 and 1710, had been serving as a perennial drinking water source for residents before it accumulated silt and turned dry.
The waterbody, encompassing a mango-shaped swimming pool at one corner near Aranmanai for the king to relax, had been a treat to the eyes but turned an eyesore in the last four years after it became dry.
Former Collector K. Nanthakumar made an attempt to renovate the waterbody, but the work came to a halt after complaints of indiscriminate removal of earth. Now after the government passed an order on April 27, allowing public and farmers to remove silt from waterbodies, Collector S. Natarajan launched full-fledged renovation of the oorani.
“This is the first time in 325 years that the oorani is renovated with levelling of the bunds on a large scale,” said M.S. Karunanidhi, vice- president of Tamil Sangam, whose house is located on the bank of the waterbody. The mango-shaped swimming pool was an architectural marvel, he said and urged the Collector to preserve it.
Stating that the swimming pool - 48 ft. long and 42 ft. wide - was being covered up during the ongoing renovation, he urged the Collector to preserve the structure. The king and his wives had access to the pool through underground stairs from the palace and the stairs were still intact, he said.
“It’s not a just desilting work but a beautification project”, said Mr. Natarajan. The district administration plans to plant saplings on the bunds on all four sides and provide pathway for walkers. The swimming pool structure was not disturbed, he said. Neelakandi oorani, another major drinking water source, was also being desilted. It went dry last year and became a venue for hosting a three-day cricket tournament few months ago.
After the government came out with the April 27 GO, 1,432 waterbodies in the district had been desilted - a majority of them in the last four months. They could start storing water from the coming north-east monsoon, the Collector said.
