What had once been a drinking water source for the entire Thuraiyur town has now turned an ugly dumping yard of garbage and plastic waste.
The Chinnaeri in Thuraiyur town has turned into an eyesore, thanks to indiscriminate dumping of garbage from the nearby shops in the bus stand and discharge of sewage.
Located right in front of the Arignar Anna bus stand, the Chinnaeri has a water spread area of 11.65 hectares with storage capacity of about 0.108 million cubic metres. Poor maintenance had rendered the tank into a breeding ground for mosquitoes and its banks have become parking area for tourist vans and cabs.
Several proposals had been drafted and sent for rejuvenating the tank, the latest being the one sent to the Union Ministry of Environment from the Environment Cell of the Public Works Department in November 2014. It proposed a couple of water treatment plants at two places — one at the confluence of sewage waters flowing down from the Taluk Office area, bus stand and Government Hospital Street and another on the Namakkal Road near the Periya Eri.
However, the proposal has not seen the light of the day. Both the PWD and the municipal sources concede the need to protect the Chinnaeri to preserve the groundwater table of the town. Given the financial crunch faced by the municipality, it is looking up to the government for support to clean up the tank.
