For 36 long years, not a drop of water made its way into the Kariyamangalam lake, situated in the Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu. For that many years, the farmers living in and around the dry luck spent most of the time either cursing their luck or petitioning to the state Government to do something about their plight.
Finally, the responsibility to understand the problem and solve it fell on the district administration of Tiruvannamalai. And it must go to their credit that with the acumen and common sense one would expect from an able administration, they not only got the lake filled with water but in the process made scores of farmers happy.
Mr. Sandeep Nanduri, currently posted as Director Tourism & Managing Director TN Tourism Development Corporation, spoke exclusively with Indian Masterminds and disclosed how the administration brought about what the farmers have described as “a miracle.’’
ROLLING OUT THE SCHEME
Once the administration understood the extent of suffering by the farmers, on account of perennially dry lake, they took the initiative under the Kudimaramath scheme. This scheme was launched by the Government of Tamil Nadu in April 2020. Under this, an administrative sanction of Rs. 499 crore was given by the state government to implement the scheme in 34 districts of the state. As per the government order, 1,387 works related to the restoration of water bodies were aimed to be taken in these districts.
Mr. Nanduri said, “Under this scheme, all the big tanks or the water bodies are taken up for their rejuvenation. The maximum responsibility for implementing the scheme lies the Water Users Association (WUA), who are essentially the farmers dependent on that particular water tank.”
“These water users who form this association are entitled to distribute 10 percent of the work from the estimated amount invested by the state government. As this work is entrusted to the farmer’s association, they are supposed to arrange material and execute it through their human resource for the operation and maintenance of the water system”, he added.
One of the first water bodies taken up under the Kudimaramath was the Kariyamangalam tank in the Tiruvannamalai district.
ISSUES WITH THE SUPPLY CHANNEL
The Kariyamangalam tank is situated in Chengam Taluk of the district and is functional with two number of sluices (gate which controls the water flow out or into a canal) and two number of surplus weirs (a low head dam) arrangement. The excess water from the Chengam lake flows into the Kariyamangalam lake.
Mr. Nanduri said, “This particular supply channel (od Kariyamangalam tank) was not desilted and maintained properly for so many years. This was blocking the flow of water into the lake. Besides, the area around the tank was also obstructed by encroachments. Finally, after spending Rs 94 lakh, we cleared the obstruction in the supply chain.
CLEARING THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Under the supervision of the district administration, several steps were taken to clear the way through which the water flows into the Kariyamangalam lake. It started with the strengthening of tank bund after which complete desilting of the supply channel was done. Second sluice was reconstructed whereas the first sluice and the surplus weirs were repaired. Apart from this, the encroachment in the supply chain was completely evicted which was an obstruction for the past several years.
After the execution of the scheme, the supply channel for a length of four and a half kilometers was completely desilted and the encroachments on the remaining four kilometers were removed. Mr. Nanduri said, “This initiative was completed in the month of September and for the first time in 36 years, after the release of water from the tank and diverting it through the supply channel, the water flowed into the Kariyamangalam tank!”
That, one can imagine, would have been a memorable moment for the residents of the region.
This tank benefits an `ayacut; (area served by an irrigation project) of 238 acres. Also, it will help in increasing the groundwater in the area and should go a long way in solving the water shortage problems faced by the residents.
AN EMOTIONAL CLOSURE
The work, which began in June this year, got completed in September. Also involved in the project was the Public Works Department (PWD), whose officials were present on ground and gave technical assistance to the farmers’ associations.
On 4 December, Sevoor S. Ramachandran, Minister, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, and Mr. Sandeep Nanduri, District Collector Tiruvannamalai, offered flowers to the inflowing water in the canal.
This would have been quite an emotional moment for the local population. For many of them, the “miracle’’ brought about by Mr. Nanduri, would have been a lifting of the 36-year old curse.
