Athur dam in Dindigul has only 1.5 ft water: officials

Reservoir being used for cleaning vehicles

The Athur Kamarajar dam, which is the primary source of drinking water to residents of Dindigul city corporation and Chinnalapatti, Chitayankottai and 20 other village panchayats, has just 1.5 feet of water, officials said here on Friday.

The total capacity of the dam is 23.5 feet. Rainfall along the stretch of Western Ghats covering Adalur, Panrimalai, Pannaikaadu, Pullaveli, Thadiyankombu, Solaikaadu and surroundings reach the reservoir. The alignment and connectivity from these pockets is such that the water makes its way into the reservoir on its own.

With drought-like scenario, however, the dam has very little storage, and lack of supervision and upkeep has worsened the environment here.

According to environmentalists, the upkeep has come in for severe criticism in the recent past as the surroundings have become polluted. Today, vehicles of all types are parked near the reservoir and cleaned.

While permission has been accorded for film shooting due to panoramic view, visitors thronging the area use the open space as dump yard for left-overs.

Officials attribute drought for poor storage, but the district administration and civic officials must ensure that the dam and its surroundings are not polluted, Ashokan, a student of Gandhigram Rural Institute said.

The dam water is considered to be the sweetest next only to Coimbatore’s Siruvani water, he pointed out.

Samipillai, a retired local body official from Thadiyankombu, says a visit by the Collector to the area, an order to ban cleaning of vehicles using the water and creating awareness among locals will save the dam.

The people will not mind waiting for the water for a month or more, he added.