On the sandy Palavedu Main Road, which is lined lush-green paddy fields on either side, a group of village elders of Palavedu, a small village near Avadi, tried every trick in the book to get a diesel-run generator running.
After an hour’s struggle, they ran the generator and pump water from a farm well in the neighbourhood to supply it to the residents of the village.
This incident took place in the week following cyclone Vardah when power supply was hit. In Avadi and surrounding areas, power supply was restored only on December 20.
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The region in question consists of many farming villages.
“With power cuts, people were not able to fill their overhead tanks with water. So, we all came together to get water from our farm well to meet our water demand,” said E. Tamilarasan, executive officer, Palavedu Village Panchayat, which comes under the Villivakkam Panchayat Union in Tiruvallur district.
For a few days following cyclone Vardah, residents managed to use the water stored in their houses to meet their basic needs, including drinking and cooking. Later, they travelled to neighbouring areas like Avadi, Pattabiram, Thirunindravur and Thirumullavoyal to fetch a few pots of water hoping that power will be restored soon.
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However, when there was no change in the power situation and their pots had gone dry, they decided to handle the water crisis on their own.
“My farm well has water round the year. However, I have considerable need of water as I carry out cultivation for three seasons in a year. Despite this, I offered to give water from my well to residents of the neighbourhood,” said 45-year-old S. Palani, a farmer in Palavedu village.
Residents and the village panchayat made contributions towards the purchase of a diesel-operated generator and tanker lorries to supply water to the neighbourhood.
Pipes were sourced from borewell traders from neighbouring areas to pump water from the farm well to the tanker lorries.
The initiative was started on December 16 by the residents. Small teams, with three to four members each, were formed to monitor the work, including the operation of the generator and lorries.
Palavedu village comprises areas like Venketachalam Nagar, Palavedu Pettai, Shastri Nagar, Kamaraj Nagar, Anna Nagar, Palavedu Colony, Gandhi Nagar, Indira Nagar and Melappedu with 2,165 houses.
Water was supplied through tanker lorries at each of the 20 streets in the village.
“Unlike in the city, most residents in villages have their relatives living in the same place. We all chipped in for the work,” said K. Deviammal, a resident of Palavedu village.