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“In July 2024, erstwhile I received a telephone from a nonmigratory successful Jangid Nagar, a neighbourhood successful Madurai that rainwater regularly surrounds their colony and the radical were incapable to measurement retired owed to the deficiency of bunds connected the waterbody, the thought of rejuvenating waterbodies successful the past municipality popped up successful my mind,” says Shashi Kumar Fomra, a Rotarian.
Today, the Rotary Clubs successful the portion person dispersed their wings acold and wide and they person cleaned up 35 waterbodies - insignificant and large ones - with their ain resources which see men, instrumentality and wealth successful Madurai metropolis and peripheries.
Narrating the Jangid Nagar communicative to The Hindu, Mr Fomra said that aft an inspection, they recreated and strengthened the bunds and ensured that the waterbody was intact and the flooding of the roads was prevented. Today, the residents are relieved arsenic rainwater stays wrong the waterbody and overflows done the channels and not connected the roads.
The adjacent waterbody they took up was the Kodikulam kanmoi (tank). Here the task was a spot analyzable arsenic the waterbody was allegedly utilized arsenic a dumping crushed for aesculapian discarded among different garbage by a fewer hospitals. The Rotarians cleaned up the tank, completed the fencing and ensured that the misuse was prevented. Further an land was created by deepening the waterbody and a Miyawaki Forest of 10,500 trees was planted. Today, the waterbody is truthful enriching that the section radical person started guarding it.
Yet different large task taken up was Koothiarkundu, a large tank, which provides h2o for irrigation to hundreds of acres of land. “When we had been determination for a Rotary task involving the villagers connected protecting the eco-system, a husbandman Gurumurthy, got successful interaction with maine requesting maine to cleanable up the tank,” Mr Fomra said.
Normally, the Rotary Clubs are engaged successful activities similar pulse polio eradication, Miyawaki forestry, livelihood empowerment of women, operation of toilet blocks and washing stations astatine authorities girls schools and among others.
The task to cleanable up the vessel came aft husbandman Gurumurthy’s call, helium said and soon helium was successful a treatment mode with his Rotarians. Ideas started flowing successful from the members and a large enactment emanated from the past Rotary Governor R Raja Govindasamy and team.
A Rotarian from Tirupur offered to donate a Komatsu excavator with an operator/driver. The task, which initially looked Herculean, became achievable. Soon, the funds required to prosecute labour and others were worked retired and philanthropists donated liberally, Mr Fomra said and frankincense the archetypal task was done up arsenic per the scheduled timetable.
When the villagers led by husbandman Gurumurthy thanked the Rotarians for the commendable task, the members decided to look for different waterbodies wherever specified problems persisted. During the regular meetings, the palmy rejuvenation of the vessel successful Koothiarkundu was discussed.
With overwhelming effect pouring in, the Rotarians began enactment connected cleaning up vessel aft vessel successful the district. There were challenges. In immoderate cases, determination were besides issues which required to beryllium sorted retired astatine the highest involution successful the district.
Hence, erstwhile the past Collector M. S. Sangeetha was briefed, she readily agreed to enactment the Rotarians, recalled Mr Fomra and hailed the contiguous Collector K. J. Praveen Kumar for his readiness successful extending assistance wherever required.
Today, helium said, “we whitethorn person cleaned up astir 35 waterbodies, but much than the numbers, the engagement of the radical successful each determination and the restitution of having rejuvenated the ponds and channels was precise high. In immoderate cases, the technocrats from the Public Works Department and the Water Resources Department gave tips which helped america expedite the works,” helium added.
The rejuvenation task reached a precocious that the Tamil Nadu authorities recognised the enactment of the Rotarians and presented Chief Minister’s Water Body Conservator Award 2025 trophy and a ₹1 lakh currency incentive. The past Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu appreciated the Rotarians for their enactment astatine the function, Mr Fomra said.
The past Rotary Governor Mr Raja Govindasamy said that the rejuvenation of the waterbodies facilitated successful enhancing the greenish screen successful Madurai district. Many barren lands came successful for productive usage aft the Rotary undertook the work. The Community Action for Fresh Water 2024-25 gave a fillip and what was started successful a tiny mode turned up into a people’s movement.
He is hopeful that the waterbody rejuvenation task taken by the Rotary Clubs would spell a agelong mode and compared it with the pulse polio program, which has helped successful polio eradication astir adjacent to 99 %.
Kudimaramathu project
A elder authoritative from the PWD said that determination were 2,295 recognised waterbodies successful Madurai territory which included irrigation tanks, ponds and temple tanks and among others. Under the AIADMK regime, erstwhile Edappadi K. Palaniswami was the Chief Minister, the authorities had earmarked funds successful a large mode to cleanable up the waterbodies.
In Madurai territory alone, implicit ₹50 crore was spent nether the task titled ‘ Kudimaramathu” which not lone helped successful desilting the tanks, but besides conserve much water. The task facilitated successful recharging the watertable and the harvest sum excessively widened, helium added.
Madakulam, 1 of the large municipality tanks successful Madurai, that has been rejuvenated. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY G
The Periyar-Vaigai and Gundar Basin divisions person 1,500 tanks and successful Madurai metropolis limits, determination were adjacent to 200 waterbodies, including 33 large municipality tanks similar the Madakulam vessel and Vandiyur tank. Recently, the DMK authorities had spent astir ₹15 crore successful rejuvenating the Vandiyur vessel successful a large mode that it has go a astir preferred destination for not lone the walkers, but besides for youngsters to prosecute themselves successful outdoor activities.
The Madurai Corporation excessively was keen to heighten the greenish screen wrong the metropolis and had identified a fewer waterbodies to beryllium cleansed. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court excessively had precocious fixed directions to the authorities to capable h2o successful the Koodal Azhagar Perumal Tank situated successful Town Hall Road.
The Rotarians person already raised Miyawaki forestry task successful a large way. In Kappalur, they person astir 60,000 trees increasing successful six acres, 5,000 trees connected 1 acre wrong the sprawling Madura assemblage campus, 3,500 trees successful 35 cents of onshore successful Vasudhara residential complex, 5,000 trees successful 1 acre successful K. Pudur and different 10,500 trees successful astir an acre successful Surya Nagar is simply a antithetic story. But the information is that Rotarians successful their ain mode are helping the greenish screen dilatory grow successful Madurai.
