Residents of a village panchayat near Vilathikulam, who took it upon themselves to address the issue of water scarcity, have pooled in resources including manpower and money for desilting village tanks.
At Ayanrajapatti village panchayat in Pudur block, which comprises Ayanrajapatti and Kailasapuram villages, the groundwater level has fallen, and the borewell found it difficult to pump water to the overhead tank. The water from the combined water supply scheme was also limited, say residents.
Rising up to the occasion, the residents have started desilting the tanks from Friday onwards.
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“Around 85 residents have been involved in the work, and a digger has been hired at a cost of about ₹25,000 for the work. The Ambattaiyan oorani in Ayanrajapatti, which spans 0.94 acres, is being desilted first,” said panchayat secretary G. Sathish Kumar. Four out of the seven tanks in the village panchayat is used for drinking.
Earlier, the residents had convened a meeting and chose Nagarajan, one of the residents, as their leader for the initiative.
On informing the higher authorities, Block Development Officers Sivabalan, Prabhu, Deputy Block Development Officers Muthupandi, Aruna Chandrasekar and Village Administrative Officer S. Sathish Kumar held a discussion with the residents. During the meeting, the residents assured them that the silt taken from the tanks would be used for strengthening the bunds alone, and not for any other purposes. The VAO and the panchayat secretary would be monitoring the work.
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Besides desilting, the residents have also decided to plant saplings along the tanks.
Further, the government should set up a water treatment plant to provide safe drinking water, said residents.