Municipality’s decision to dig borewellon swampland comes under attack

The Coonoor Municipality’s decision to dig a borewell on a swampland at Karadipallam in Coonoor has been opposed by environmentalists and activists.

Activists said that the move to dig a borewell in Karadipallam was indicative of the conflict faced by civic bodies everywhere in the Nilgiris, where the need to conserve what is left of the environment clashes heavily with the pragmatic needs of ensuring that the burgeoning population in the town have access to water resources and housing.

Local residents in Karadipallam said that the municipality had already dug two wells, of which only one was functional. One of the wells, built at a cost of ₹6.5 lakh, now stands disused, with residents saying that the municipality had told them not to draw water from it, as it was not fit for consumption.

However, the borewell being dug by the municipality now was less than a few feet away from the site of the old well.

Coonoor municipality officials refuted claims that the well was not functional, stating that they had desilted the bottom of the well and that the water was now fit for consumption.

S. Manogaran, president of Coonoor Consumer Protection Association, said the digging of borewells itself must be minimized across the Nilgiris. Lack of awareness of the importance of swamps could lead to major environmental impact in the long run.

When contacted, K. Mahendran, Municipal Engineer, Coonoor, said that lack of rain in Coonoor this year had necessitated the need to dig borewells to stave off acute water crisis. “We are digging borewells in four locations—Vandisolai, Vannarapettai, Sims Park and Karadipallam,” he said, adding that the borewells would be put to use only if the water crisis worsens in the coming months.