Garbage, construction debris replace water in Madurai tank

One more water body joins the list of tanks that face onslaught of urbanisation

A ride on the New Ramanathapuram Road at Anuppanadi would reveal huge mounds of garbage dumped on one side of the road.

G. Sekar, a 56-year-old resident, says the garbage mounds stand on top of Chinna kanmoi (tank). “Around 30 years back, this was a functioning irrigation tank. Cattle and goats used to drink water from it. But, over the years, it has become a place for dumping garbage and construction debris. Now there are hardly any signs left of an irrigation tank,” he says.

The tank, which runs from Gate Lock Rock near Anuppanadi railway gate to New Ramanathapuram Road, has joined the list of tanks in Madurai that face the onslaught of urbanisation.

According to an RTI reply received by S. Mohan, an activist, the Chinna kanmoi has been officially noted as a waterbody. The tank receives water through a supply channel that originates from Panaiyur channel, which runs along New Ramanathapuram Road. But, currently, the supply channel is dysfunctional.

A compound wall has been built on a large portion of the tank on Gate Lock Road, where the Corporation has placed a banner announcing that this portion of the tank is earmarked for dumping construction debris. Likewise, a huge quantum of construction debris is found dumped inside the portion.

A Corporation engineer says that around three years back this place was earmarked for dumping construction debris to ensure that the waste is not discarded on the roadside.

Abu Bakkar of Neer Nilaigal Pathukappu Iyakkam says this is an example of how the government made a tank disappear by dumping construction waste into it.

Concurring with his viewpoint, Vedamani, a resident and a functionary of Democratic Youth Federation of India, says the tank has to be restored at the earliest. The restoration of the tank will help in increasing the groundwater level in the water-starved area, says N.R.R. Gopi, secretary of Anuppanadi Residents’ Welfare Association. “The residents have to sink borewells for 900 metres for a good yield. We have made several petitions to the civic body saying that we can even undertake the maintenance of the tank. But there has been no response to our demands,” he adds.

This tank can be used as a rainwater harvesting structure, says Mr. Sekar.

But, when The Hindu contacted the Public Works Department and the Corporation, there was a confusion among the officials as to whose jurisdiction the tanks came under. The officials say it has to be verified as to which department maintains the tank.

Mr. Mohan says that ultimately the tank is bearing the brunt of official apathy. “The tank has to be restored at the earliest, regardless of whichever department maintains it,” he adds.