Eco India: How reviving an ancient tanks system is resolving Madurai's water woes

in the remote village of khambur in madurai district mother lakshmi's typical day begins at the kalakati uranu or the pond near her house piped water supply has not made it to her village yet but she has access to water literally on her doorstep little pond that the locals safeguard as their own the temple city of madurai on the banks of the river vai gai still is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for hindus [Music] across the pamba river basin near the city as we visit different water bodies it is clear that the relationship people here share with water is sacred and personal for instance here at the tank rai khan mai or the thank rai irrigation tank historically water bodies in these areas used to be managed entirely by local communities the people in charge of the maintenance were given the designation of water managers despite being blindly sleepers libras water managers enjoyed complete control of these water bodies even deciding who gets how much water and when moreover this was no ordinary job angle [Music] foreign we may have left behind the times when people risked their lives for water but the certain time cues for water collection reflect the tragedy of our times today the world health organization estimates that half the world's population will be living in water stressed areas by as early as 2025 close home in india as of today nearly 600 million people face water stress while three-fourth of india's villages have no access to piped portable water [Music] this puts the onus on local water bodies to cater to the needs of the community the palmer basin in tamilnadu is no exception with no perennial rivers the region relies solely on her tanks and ponds an ngo based out of madurai has stepped in they have reached out to over 3913 villages across seven states to revive the tradition of community-led water management by setting up pharma associations called viola gums veteran farmer lakshmi kanthan tells us how in the mid-90s he had got drawn to the concept foreign tank rehabilitation program was simple the locals who used the water body would plan and execute its rehabilitation work 25 percent of the cost would be contributed by users while dhan and its supporters would bear the rest over the last three decades viola gums or pharma associations have restored nearly 1107 defunct tanks in pumbaa region ground despite the harsh indian summer this year the ayapan tank in kampur is brimming with water the cows are going back home and the children linger on a little longer the farmers in the region tell us how in the not so distant past their tank was in fact in shambles till they decided to take charge a foreign it wasn't just tanks that needed attention but also uranus or small ponds that supply drinking water to inaccessible villages like muda lakshmi's the madurai municipal corporation in the pambur basin that once housed more than 90 uranis currently has only 21. many of the older tanks and uranus are garbage dumps today or have been encroached upon by government of private players understanding that these existing structures that already work with the topography of the region could prove to be a boon dhaan has worked to restore close to 300 iranis in tamilnadu including the one at kalakati [Music] the air is almost festive [Music] children youngsters and the elderly have all come from neighboring villages to take their share of water from this pond campaign in reclaiming a water system from the past these men and women have perhaps found a way to a water secure future walking back the distance of four kilometers with her share nithya hopes it won't be long before her uranu two gets resurrected [Music] you

Channel: Scroll.in

Views: 257,974

Keywords: Water scarcity, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Eco India, Water tanks

Id: xd2--hzDvJk

Length: 10min 40sec (640 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 27 2021