Waterbodies in Tamil Nadu gasping for life

In the rural context, encroaching just one feeder channel was more than enough to disconnect the whole cascade of tanks
Waterbodies in Tamil Nadu gasping for life

MADURAI: There was a time when life was centred around waterbodies. Those days are history. As times changed, people lost their connection with waterbodies, leaving them to shrink.  Speaking to TNIE, Programme Leader of the Centre for Urban Water Resources (CURE) of Dhan Foundation, N Venkatesan said, “When waterbodies were linked to people’s livelihoods, they kept them clean. Cultural restrictions in rural areas also prevented pollution. Once people learnt to draw underground water through pumps, and with gradual urbanisation, they lost the connection with those waterbodies.”

Venkatesan said losing the connection ultimately led to tagging waterbodies as ‘poramboku’ land in government records, paving the way for encroachments. In urban areas, community buildings, public toilets, courts and other buildings were built on them. “Temples were built on waterbodies to prevent authorities from removing encroachments,” he said, adding that the banks of rivers also became dwelling places for urban poor.

In the rural context, encroaching just one feeder channel was more than enough to disconnect the whole cascade of tanks, a water management system implemented hundreds of years ago across the State.

"Once a feeder channel is blocked, water supply to the chain of tanks reduces. This leads to some tanks getting too much water, and others getting none. Drought also forces farmers to quit farming. Dry tanks are easliy encroached as there is no clear demarcation,” said Venkatesan.

According to figures in a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, between 1979 and 2016, waterbodies in Chennai declined by 9.67 sq km. About 80 per cent of urban household drainage ends up in waterbodies. While Tamil Nadu mainly depends on the monsoon, polluted waterbodies, coupled with encroachments, lack space to hold rainwater, resulting in flooding.

K Lalith Balaji, a Tiruchy-based activist, said, “Over 100 villages have waterbodies, including over 50 lakes and ponds, which drain into the Marudaiyaru river. These lakes and ponds are a source of drinking water. Given the rampant encroachments over the years, water scarcity has become a serious concern in summer. More than 1 lakh farmers from Perambalur and Ariyalur districts would benefit from Marudaiyaru if the river and its streams are maintained well.”

“Vandiyur tank in Madurai used to host about 3,000 migratory birds. Now, even native birds stay away. Most of the tanks are covered with water hyacinth, Prosopis juliflora and other invasive species. Though desilting is done occasionally, there is no permanent solution,” said K Manickam, a resident of Madurai.
Climate activist, G Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, said restoring waterbodies and creating new ones are the solution. “Cities like Rotterdam in the Netherlands have undertaken climate-proof measures. They build reservoirs in parking lots and all other places possible. But here we have lost the existing water management system and are adopting desalination plants which are disastrous.” 

Senior officials in the Public Works Department urged the State government to frame a policy to face litigations as both encroachers and complainants file court cases. “Awaiting court orders for a long time, we can neither clear encroachment nor preserve waterbodies,” said the officials.

(With inputs from Vinodh Arulappan in Madurai, Azeefa Fathima in Virudhunagar, P Thiruselvam in Tiruchy, and C Shivakumar in Chennai)

(In this series, TNIE focuses on the need to conserve water before it’s too late)

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