A public well here will get the honour it deserves as it is celebrating its centenary this year. People of Malappuram have begun preparations to celebrate the public well dug by the British in 1916 with a day-long programme on the Republic Day.
People from different walks of life will attend the programme to be held at Kiliyamannil Auditorium near the well at Valiyangadi. The well constructed by the erstwhile Malappuram Taluk Board to address water scarcity of Malappuram a hundred years ago still caters to a large number of people in the area.
“We have had seven or eight such wells in and around Malappuram. But all of them have either disappeared or fallen into disuse. This is the only well from the British era that we still continue to enjoy,” said Eastern Saleem, one of the organisers of the centenary programme.
The well was constructed in such a way that it required a person to climb 24 steps to take water from it. But the steps disappeared over the course of time. The local people, however, have been thankful to the municipal and town authorities for sparing the well from road expansion.
“I believe the Town Planner had taken special care to protect this well when the road was expanded at different times,” said Mr. Saleem. The well is a matter of excitement for many here. “The water it offers is good, and it is amazing that it continues to quench the thirst of quite a lot of people in this area,” said Malappuram Kazi O.P.M. Sayed Muthukoya Thangal.
