The Vaeinthaankulam tank surrounding the new bus-stand here, which was desilted a year ago with the public contribution of ₹12 lakh, is all set to become a ‘sewage tank’ once again as drainage discharged by shops in the bus terminus has started flowing into the tank.
After a portion of Vaeinthaankulam, a rain-fed, non-irrigation tank, spread over nearly 20 acres, was filled with soil, it led to birth of a new bus-stand, the terminus for far off buses being operated by the State Express Transport Corporation and mofussil buses of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.
Though this water body was recharging the groundwater table, sewage generated in the bus stand was discharged into the tank.
When Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish wanted desilting with public participation even as a good number of irrigation tanks was being desilted under the State-funded ‘kudimaramaththu’ scheme last year, a group of retired government officials, teachers and businessmen from Perumalpuram and NGO Colony areas joined hands together to revive the project.
Within a few weeks, the ‘Nam Tamirabharani Iyakkam’, which was coordinating the desilting of Vaeinthaankulam tank and the NGO Colony Periyakulam, collected ₹ 12 lakh and executed it before the onset of monsoon. The Corporation, which is managing the Vaeinthaankulam bus-stand, was told to plug all pipes through which sewage was flowing into the tank.
A good number of birds had nests inside the water body that was holding water till July this year.
“Now, all our efforts are being threatened as sewage from the bus stand is flowing again even as this bus terminus is undergoing makeover under the ‘Smart City’ programme. If it continues, Vaeinthaankulam will become a pool of sewage again,” said Nallaperumal of ‘Nam Tamirabharani Iyakkam’.
Assistant Executive Engineer, Melapalayam Zone, Lenin, assured that the sewage would not be discharged into the tank as steps had been taken to connect the drainage pipes with the underground drainage system.