A rainwater harvesting structure set up by the villagers of Rendivayal near Ponnamaravathy in the district a century ago has come as a boon for the residents.
The tank, neatly maintained for generations together, now stands as the lone source for meeting the drinking water needs of the residents of the village. “Though the monsoon had failed, the storage in the water realised during the previous monsoons, has been quite adequate to meet the needs of our population of about 500 families,” says V. Balasubramanian, one of the residents. No cattle can access the tank, as a concrete compound has been constructed all around.
“Apart from meeting our demand, the tank is also utilised by residents of 18 hamlets in the periphery during any major domestic functions. They take the water by trucks. However, the truck is filled pot by pot taken by headload, as heavy vehicle cannot reach the tank which measures 200 feet by 200 feet.
The villagers said that the storage would stabilise further if the entire tank was dredged altogether.
According to official sources, the tank is a classic example of rainwater harvesting structures. With the district having registered just one-tenth of the average rainfall during the last calender year, the tank has come as a saving grace to meet the drinking water needs of the residents on a sustained basis, the source said.
