Will Periyar water flow to quench residents’ thirst?

“A ruling party man has constructed a part of his house over the channel”

November 24, 2014 12:27 pm | Updated 12:27 pm IST - MADURAI:

Corporation lets underground drainage water flow into Kannanendal tank inMadurai. Photo: G. Moorthy

Corporation lets underground drainage water flow into Kannanendal tank inMadurai. Photo: G. Moorthy

The wet spell over the last two months has made the atmosphere cool. The greenery here and there adds to it. The water level in Periyar dam touching 142 feet after three decades has made people here cheerful.

The rain and the increased storage in the reservoir have brought loads of hopes for the city residents who have been anxiously expecting recharging of the depleted groundwater table.

But despite an appreciable effort by officials of the Public Works Department to bring water to three irrigation tanks in the city after several years, the people around Kannanendal along New Natham Road feel disappointed. For, despite a lot of struggle by the local residents that made the officials clear jungle growth and desilt the Tiruppalai distributory channel, the Periyar water has failed to fill the tank in their neighbourhood.

“We thought that our dream of filling that tank with Periyar water after many years was within reach. But, the sudden turn of events failed us,” said S. Jaganathan, a resident of Kannanendal.

When the PWD cleared its first hurdle of removing the silt, they faced with encroachment of the supply channel in Ayyavu Thevar Nagar. The supply channel which was seven feet wide has been reduced to around one foot, thanks to rampant urbanisation, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) functionary, K. Selvam.

“A ruling party man has constructed a part of his house over the channel, which had led to inundation of low-lying residential areas. Mosquito breeding was posing a challenge to the residents,” he said. A complaint has been lodged with the Collector. Meanwhile, the Corporation workers in their effort to drain the water broke an underground drainage pipeline which now added to the health hazard as the sewage was draining into the tank, thus polluting whatever little water was there now, said K.G. Kannumuthu Pandi, another resident.

Meanwhile, the Kannanendal tank was all set to get the surplus water from the neighbouring Siruthur tank that got filled up close to its brim.

“It was then a resident, who had built his house close to the tank, raised a false alarm of tank bund getting breached and flooding of residential area. Following the visit of elected representatives, the officials let the water drain wastefully into another tank,” Mr. Jaganathan said.

Even for the little quantity of water in the tank, groundwater in several residential areas has shown improvement. However, the residents fear that if the same situation has to continue for several more months, the tank should get its due storage.

A. Chellam, secretary of Bharat Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, said that it was a do-or-die situation for their residential area.

“We have suffered a lot due to inadequate rain and poor groundwater for the last three years. Most of our residents are buying water from tankers. If Kannanendal tank does not get water at least now, we will have to suffer further for one more year,” he said.

However, a senior PWD official said that drawing of water through Periyar Main Canal (PMC) has been temporarily stopped as Vaigai dam water was being let for Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts.

“We will soon resume drawing of water through the PMC and we will ensure that all the three tanks of Siruthur, Kannanendal and Parasurampatti got adequate storage this season,” he said.

The official said that there were still several hurdles in the form of encroachments made by residents and the Corporation that obstructed free flow of water into the tanks. The residents are worried and waiting for more water release with their fingers crossed.

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