This story is from December 2, 2019

Coimbatore youngsters revive two waterbodies

Coimbatore youngsters revive two waterbodies
Image used for representational purpose only
COIMBATORE: In yet another instance of concerned individuals coming together to revive a water body in the district, youngsters, professionals and local residents of Somayampalayam village near the city have given a new lease of life to two tanks in their area.
While both the tanks received water in the recent rain, one of them reached its full capacity on Sunday after nearly eight years.

Volunteers said the twin tanks, which are separated by a check dam in between, were the primary source of groundwater recharge in the area. They receive water through streams from the catchment areas at the foothills of Maruthamalai.
The tanks were earlier bone dry as they were filled with trash and weeds. The condition of the streams, which feed the tank, wasn’t also any different and they were choked with silt and weeds.
The volunteers said the decision to revive the tanks was taken in March this year and that they had formed a group ‘Aaniver’ (meaning tap root) for the same. “We then mobilized help from Somayampalayam and Navavoor folk and officials, who initiated desilting work with help from other players.”
R Santhakumar, a volunteer, said due to water scarcity in the area they used to receive water only once in two weeks. “So, we decided to revive the tanks. We have removed around two to three tonnes of plastic waste from the tanks and strengthened their bunds. We have also planted more than 200 palmyra seeds around the tanks,” he said.

The tanks subsequently received water as the rain lashed the city in the past one week. Pointing out that one of the tanks was full following the rain on Saturday night, one of the volunteers said another shower would make the water flow over the check dam to the second tank, which was already half full. “When the two tanks get filled, water would flow through canals to the next village and eventually feed the Noyyal river.”
Premkumar Ponraj, another volunteer, said they were mulling the idea of planting native trees around the tanks to attract birds. “We are planning to plant fruit trees to attract birds. Also, some more channels of the tank need desilting and cleaning. We would take up that work also,” he said.
In recent times, volunteers and environmentalist groups have been working to preserve and revive various waterbodies such as Chinnavedampatti Tank, Sarkar Samakulam Tank and Vellalore Tank in the district.
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