Village ponds in Tiruchi district being improved under the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) have started showing appreciable increase in storage.
One such small and shallow pond at K.Periyapatti village in Manapparai block now shows perceptible increase in storage thanks to the programme implemented by the District Watershed Development Agency (DWDA). The pond now stores more water and the water table around the pond also shows increase. Ilanjiyam, a woman of the village, said that now they have adequate water for both drinking and bathing. V.Selvaraj, president of the village, said that water level in the borewells surrounding the area has also improved.
P.Prasad, Assistant Executive Engineer, DWDA, said that dredging work was carried out in the pond silted up and covered with bushes. The bed level of the pond was maintained and excavated soil in the water spread area was deposited on the bunds uniformly, consolidated and sectioned.
“Yet another unique feature of the pond was the creation of recharge shaft. It was the most effective structure to recharge the aquifer directly. A new borewell was erected in the pond. A filter medium was created around the new borewell. Arrangements have been made to impound the rain water to the shaft. The impounded water enters the bore through the filter medium which recharges the aquifer directly. The structure augments the groundwater resources, stores surplus water, particularly during floods, for future use, and reduces floods and surface runoff,” Mr.Prasad said.
The pond renovated at a cost of Rs. 2.50 lakh can now hold 0.6 million cubic ft of water. At Sevalur in the same block, another village pond has been improved. Here a check dam has been built to regulate the flow of water. M.Selvaraj, vice-president, Manapparai panchayat union, said the pond renovated at a cost of Rs. 2.81 lakh can now hold 0.7 million cubic ft of water. Under IWMP, a new farm pond has been created at Pirampatti in Marungapuri block at a cost of Rs. 50,000.
R.M.Lakshmanan, Deputy Director of Agriculture, and N.Kannan, Assistant Director of Agriculture, DWDA, said that in Tiruchi district, 202 ponds have been renovated at a cost of Rs.1.35 crore. In the last three years, 118 farm ponds have been created at a cost of Rs. 52.50 lakh. A percolation pond has also been constructed at Nattarpatti village in Marungapuri block at a cost of Rs.2.82 lakh. A percolation pond is a small harvesting structure constructed across a natural stream or water course to harvest and impound runoff from catchments for a long time, to facilitate vertical and lateral percolation of impounded water in to the soil sub-strata, thereby recharging groundwater in the zone of influence of the pond.
In Tiruchi district, in the last three years, 42 percolation ponds have been constructed at a cost of Rs. 60 lakh. S.Mathiyalagan, Joint Director of Agriculture and Project Officer, IWMP, and Pandiyarajan, PA to District Collector, said that IWMP is implemented with Central and State government funds. In Tiruchi district, the scheme was being implemented in Pullampadi, Thuraiyur, Marungapuri, Thottiyam, Vaiyampatti, Musiri, Thathaiyangarpettai, Manapparai and Uppiliyapuram blocks covering 14 IWMP scheme since 2009. About 78,749 hectares of land have been taken for treatment under the scheme, with a project outlay of Rs.94.50 crore. Till date, Rs.14.11 crore had been received of which Rs.615 lakh had been spent.
