It was an open invitation posted on social media that brought a group of youth to Kanakkankulam Tank on Sunday. What had inspired them was stories of young men like them in other parts of the state joining hands to remove prosopis julifora (seemaikaruvel).
The 1200-acre tank is the lifeline of residents of K.K. Nagar and several villages to the south of K.Sathanur. Besides supplying water to the paddy fields, it is an important source of ground water to the region. Controlled and maintained by the Public Works Department, the sprawling tank turned into a dumping yard over the years. Moreover, it became a haven for anti-social elements in the night.
Now, the tank is all set to receive a facelift, thanks to the young men, who assembled at the site with gloves and equipment to conduct a cleaning operation. Tiruchi City Corporation also got into the act and sent three earth movers and tipper lorries to assist them.
The volunteers cleared the domestic waste, plastic bottles, plastic carry bags and liquor bottles strewn across the tank, while the earth movers cleared the bushes. With the blazing sun beating on their heads, the young men worked continuously from 7 am till evening.
More importantly, they removed the bottlenecks for free flow of water into the tank. They also cleaned the inlet and outlet channels. “We cannot be a silent spectator when water bodies are being polluted. Hence, we joined together to save a water body in our locality,” said M. Kumara Eswaran, a Home Guard and resident of Kaval Karan Street.
They had made a good beginning. It was a holiday well-spent. And now they would take up the matter with the Collector and other officials for help to complete the task, the group said.
The team also decided to rope in members of various associations for the renovation. And their aim is see the tank brimming with water to its maximum level.
