Madurai
Around 79% of the 3,19,761 buildings assessed by Madurai Corporation till October, have functional rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures, reveals data obtained from the civic body.
The RWH structures present in the buildings were evaluated by the Corporation for a baseline survey undertaken as part of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, a central government scheme on water conservation. According to the data, nearly 4% of the total evaluated buildings did not have any RWH structures. The remaining buildings had RWH structures, but they were not functional.
The buildings that were examined include government buildings, commercial establishments, educational institutions, hospitals, industrial buildings and other residential buildings.
Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan said that the assessment of additional buildings was hindered during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The civic body gives high importance to harvest rainwater and several steps are taken to rejuvenate natural water sources within the city. By doing so, the groundwater level will also increase," he said.
A Corporation engineer said that notices were issued for buildings that did not have functional RWH structures. "Currently, all existing RWH structures present in Corporation buildings are being desilted to ensure maximum harvesting of rainwater during the monsoon," added the official.
The civic body has built RWH structures at 280 spots in the city which are prone to waterlogging, said the Commissioner. "There was no water stagnation for prolonged hours in most parts of the city, following the rains on Friday. The Corporation officials immediately attended to complaints raised by the residents regarding water stagnation," he added.
In recent years, there has not been a dramatic change in the rainfall yield, but a fall in the number of rainy days. Hence, it is important to ensure that the rainwater is properly stored to answer the water shortage crisis in the city, said Lokesh Sinram, Environmental Engineer at the Centre for Urban Water Resources of DHAN Foundation.
The Commissioner said that the civic body was also rejuvenating the 33 ooranis (ponds) located within the city.
S.Suthanthira Amalraj, former Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department, said that the focus must be on restoration of the tanks by increasing their water storage capacity.
He also suggested that large-sized RWH structures must be present in the new Periyar bus stand that is currently under construction. "Similarly, RWH structure has to be present in the multi-level car parking facility that is being constructed near Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple," he added.