Coimbatore, popularly known as the Manchester of South India, is strategically located
at the foothills of the cloud carrassed Western Ghats . The dawn of the 21st century
saw a rapidly depleting water scenario in the Coimbatore region posing a huge threat to
even basic drinking water needs.
The summer of 2003 forecasted a severe drought with
just 15 days of water left in the Siruvani reservoir. Panic and despair was visible on
people’s faces. Something had to be done and done immediately – there was no time to
pause and think and deliberate.
Coimbatore region has been abundantly blessed by the long-term vision of the Chera
kings, who during their reign, had curated many wetlands along the Noyyal River basin.
One such wetland is the Krishnampathy Lake, which is situated to the west of
Coimbatore in Seeranaickenpalayam. It lies in the middle of a four lake cluster –
Muthannankulam, Selvampathy, Krishnampathy and Narasampathy.
The core area of the Krishnampathy lake is surrounded on its various sides by mixed
habitats – paddyfields, farmlands, bamboo woods, Sugarcane Breeding Institute and
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University’s experiment farms. This registered ayacut is 568.79
acres with a water-spread area of 178 acres. Presently, the total capacity is 86 acres
and water revived area is 75 acres. The catchment area is 16 sq.km .
With no time to ponder, a group of eco conscious Corporates who had some previous
experience in rejuvenating rural water bodies plunged into action – Krishnampathy lake,
which was in a heavily silted up state with mounds of garbage also dumped into it, was
taken up as a pilot project. When the neighbouring farmers heard about the plan, they
discouraged the efforts of Siruthuli saying that it was a sheer waste of time and money.
Confidence-infusing words from the Waterman of India,Dr Rajendra Singh, who was
invited to assess the action plan, gave them courage to go ahead with the plan in spite
of the discouraging advice from the locals. His logical counsel was that the rain falling
on the Western Ghats, which surrounded the Coimbatore region, has to necessarily
come down. And when it does, Coimbatore will be ready with its vessels – the desilted
water bodies. Siruthuli never went back on its decision to revive water bodies and bring
them back to life. Approximately 17 ft deep accumulated silt and debris was removed
and a bund created all around besides cleaning the feeder channels which fed the lake.
A bright ray of hope for the long term plans of SIRUTHULI came when, with just 2 days
of an unexpected downpour, the entire water body filled up, much to the delight of not
only Siruthulians but to the ecstatic delight of all Coimbatoreans. Water which had
become a rare sight to see was there presenting itself like an ocean. People came in
large numbers to celebrate by lighting lamps all along the bund. There has been no
looking back since then and SIRUTHULI has been making sure and steady strides in
reviving and rejuvenating more than 30 water bodies.
Right from 2003, when Coimbatore was declared as a drought-prone zone to the
current state where the city is fairly comfortable in meeting its water needs, Siruthuli has
played a significant role in imparting the collective ownership sentiment among the
citizens to preserve and protect the natural resources of the region. While it is delightful
to evocate the past, we at Siruthuli feel motivated and inspired to march forward to
conserve Nature.
Come, join us! – Nature is the collective responsibility of all and sundry – irrespective of
caste, creed and religion!
