As the ‘ooranies,’ the once perennial water sources in the Municipality limits became polluted and turned into eyesores, the district administration has roped in private parties to clean up and make them pristine waterbodies.
As the municipality could not take up the de-silting work due to lack of funds, all the 12 ‘ooranies’ in the town, that once catered to the drinking water needs of the people, became sources for discharging and storing sewage water and remained useless for years together.
Acting on the orders of Collector K. Nanthakumar, the Municipality had cleaned up the Semmankundu oorani at the entrance of the town near Schwartz High school at a cost of Rs. 7 lakh during 2012-13 but could not clean up other waterbodies due to lack of funds.
Stepping in, the Collector drew an ambitious plan and invited private parties to clean up the ooranies in the larger interest of the public. “Now, eight of the 12 ooranies inside the Municipality limits have been cleaned up and the remaining four are being cleaned,” Mr. Nanthakumar told reporters here on Saturday.
He said the district administration was willing to accord permission to private parties to clean up ‘ooranies’ elsewhere in the district. Those who take up the de-silting work could sell the soil removed from the waterbodies or utilise them for own use, the Collector said.
It all started when the Dharani Agro Research and Rural Empowerment Foundation (DARE), headed by its Managing Trustee Dharani R Murugesan stepped in and cleaned up the Chidambaram oorani in August last year. After the highly polluted waterbody was cleaned, the tourism department had even explored the possibility of introducing water sports for kids in the waterbody.
The Trust has also cleaned up the ‘Kedavettu oorani’ at a cost of Rs. 8 lakh. Taking a cue, the Thavayogi Thayumanavar Trust has cleaned up the ‘Sayakara oorani.’ The trust has secured permission to clean up the ‘Lakshmipuram oorani,’ in which Thayumanavar, the spiritual giant and Tamil philosopher used to take bath, its president S. Palani said.
Mr. Nanthakumar said the district had about 4,000 ‘ooranies’ and 1,900 ‘kanmais,’ including 400 maintained by the Public Works Department. These waterbodies measured about 2,000 sq km, comprising 50 per cent of the total geographical area of the district, the Collector said.
“Those who take up de-silting work can sell the soil removed from the waterbodies or utilise them for own use”
