PERAMBALUR: Frustrated by the apathy of PWD officials, youth from four villages joined forces to temporarily plug a breach in Vellaru river and also dredged its canal.
Two thousand acres across Athiyur, Keezhumathur, Kai Perambalur and Vayalur in Kunnam taluk are irrigated by four lakes fed by Vellaru river. Two years ago, there was a breach in the river bank near Keezhakudikadu, which blocked the water flow in the river. This apart, the canals were overrun with Karuvela trees.
Locals said they submitted petitions to the Public Works Department several times but there was no affirmative action. With agriculture at stake, youths from Athiyur, Keezhumathur, Kai Perambalur and Vayalur and Puthiya Payanam decided to fix the river bank and renovate canals at their own expense. They placed sandbags to plug the breach and dredged the canal for about 4 kilometres.
A Aravind, resident of Vayalur said, “These lakes have not had enough water since the bank collapsed two years ago. We submitted several petitions to the authorities but in vain. So we came together to fix the bank and clean the canal. We hope the lakes get water during rains.” Athiyur resident S Rajasekaran said, “Paddy was the main crop in the region.
Because there was not enough water, we shifted to rainfed crops like maize and groundnut. The only source of water is lakes. If water is available in lakes this year, it will raise the groundwater level and revive agriculture.”