PERAMBALUR: Residents of Perali have sought renovation of damaged compound walls of a lake and its canals in the village. A lake named Ooryeri (about 15 acres) is located at Perali village in Veppur union. Sprawling across 15 acres, the Ooryeri lake is located in Veppur union. It gets its water from a small pond (kuttai) and carries water to another lake (Kalleri) in the village. Although the lake was used for drinking water many years ago, now people are using it for bathing and feeding cattle too. However, six years ago, the lake dried up without proper maintenance.
Following this, the villagers have been renovating the waterbody for the last six years with the help of the government. Due to their efforts, the lake got water in 2019 and overflowed twice in 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile, the compound walls of the lake, have recently, been damaged, and its canals and banks have been left unmaintained. People have demanded Perali panchayat and the Collector renovate the walls and maintain the lake. A Perali resident, A Venkatesan, told TNIE, "There is a hole on the south bank of the lake. The water comes out when the water increases here. Thus the authorities concerned should inspect and rectify it. Also, the compound walls were damaged.
If this is not rectified immediately, landslides may occur during the rainy season."
He further said we have done our best to restore the lake, however, it needs more maintenance. If the authorities cooperate with this, the lake could be turned back to a drinking waterbody, he added. Another resident, T Nallappan, said, "The canal coming from the small pond is likely to overflow and enter the village when the lake fills up. So the authorities have to set a small shutter in this pond to open the water. Otherwise, we are forced to stop the flow of water every time the lake fills up. The authorities should take action on these issues. Also, the lake needs to be deepened and renovated completely before the next monsoon."
When TNIE contacted, Perali Panchayat president Shanthi Senthilkumar said, "I informed the senior officers about this. We will take action soon."