Use money for restoration of Irusukuttai pond, not beautification: Ariyalur residents

ARIYALUR: The Ariyalur municipality has commenced restoration of the Irusukuttai, a small rain-fed pond in the town, at a cost of Rs 1.04 crore. Locals, particularly youngsters who had themselves taken up the work two years ago following their pleas to the civic body falling in deaf ears, demand focus to not be on beautification but on deepening the waterbody properly and strengthening its bunds.

While the pond spread over 3.5 acres on College Road relies solely on rains, it has water throughout the year, making locals to draw from it for almost all purposes, except drinking. However, a lack of maintenance for over five years led to its drying up, said locals. Subsequently, it fell prey to invasive flora growth and waste dumping. While locals mention of having filed several petitions for restoration of the waterbody with the Ariyalur municipality, they claim no action as having been taken.

Taking matters into their own hands, youngsters, with the help of other residents, undertook the restoration of the pond at a cost of around Rs 3 lakh. They rid the waterbody of flora growth, deepened it by three feet, and raised its bunds. They also planted 30 saplings on the bund. Following this, the heavy rains last
year revived the pond.

On May 26 this year, the municipality under the Kalaignar Urban Development Scheme kicked off restoration of the pond at a cost of Rs 104 lakh. Under it, a walking track and a children's play area are expected to be set up by the pond. Locals, however, demand the focus to be on deepening the pond properly and on strengthening its bund.

J Venkatesan, a youngster said, "We had deepened the pond as much as we could. But it isn’t deep enough to store more water. This led to water shortage for some time. The authorities must deepen the waterbody to save enough. If it holds water for many days, the groundwater level in 2,000 borewells in the surrounding areas will go up."

"Instead of deepening the pond, authorities are currently undertaking other works. They should first deepen the pond by at least another five feet. The bund wall is also so high that people cannot see the pond. Further, authorities have to permit farmers to excavate the soil in it," he added. Another local, S Elavarasan, said, "We had already undertaken work in the pond, which the authorities should not pass of as theirs. The money earmarked by the government should be used to restore the pond completely. Authorities must also set up nets in its two canals to prevent the disposal of plastic waste. The walking track and the children's play area should be then completed as soon as possible and opened for public use."

When contacted, a municipality official told TNIE that a plan for the pond’s restoration has been chalked out and added that it will be carried out systematically.