This woman aims to clean up tanks

Just a few years back Narmada Nandhakumar was an economics teacher. Now her life has totally transformed and she is devoting her time to save waterbodies. She decided to take up cleaning exercise as she was pained over the unresolved Cauvery dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

A Chennai-based environmentalist, Narmada decided to embark on a mission to clear weeds and unwanted plants in lakes and tanks to draw the attention of the state government. Narmada took a plunge when there was a severe water crisis in her native Rajapalayam town a few years back. “There was severe water scarcity in my town. I suffered a lot along with others in the town for a few weeks as all the lakes and waterbodies in the area went dry due to poor maintenance,” the 38-year-old Narmada recalls.

Narmada made several representations to the district collector and the authorities concerned at Rajapalayam but no action was taken. She then realised that there is an urgent need to conserve water in  lakes and waterbodies.

Narmada came  back to Chennai to start her maiden water conservation work at Ambattur lake, which was filled with weeds and waste dumps. “I wanted to start my mission from my locality and therefore I selected Ambattur lake,” she pointed out.

“Many people hesitated to help me as they wondered how a woman can take up the work of clearing weeds and unwanted plants in the lake,” the teacher-turned-environmentalist said.

Ambattur, one of the largest lakes, Poondi and Chembarambakkam lakes cater to the drinking water needs of  Chennai city. With no one to assist her, Narmada used a long stick with a sickle at one end to clear weeds.

“I knew it was risky to start the work alone and I would not be able to clean the entire lake. But I knew my effort would  create an awareness among people and draw the attention of the authorities concerned,” she said.

She would take up cleaning work from 7 am to 5 pm with a two-hour lunch break. “After one week, the PWD authorities  assured me that the lake will be cleaned and desilted,” she said.  Within a few days, Narmada's “Ambattur lake cleaning”  job was taken over by the officials, who deployed several hundred workers to desilt the lake before the onset of northeast monsoon.

If  more than 30% of lake area is covered with weeds, then it is considered dense growth and it doesn't allow recreation activities in the waterbody.  They also lead to foul smell. Weed and other waste would also affect fish.

“Significantly, dense lake weed s growth can cause major fish kill by depleting oxygen in the water at night,” she claimed. Weeds grow faster using nutrients in the surrounding soil. As she was extremely concerned over the Cauvery issue, her focus shifted to Thanjavur district. She felt that several delta farmers were suffering without water for cultivating Kuruvai and Samba crops. “It (Thanjavur) was a new place for me. I chose to clean Kodimarathu Moolai moat,” she said.  Narmada initially thought that cleaning this waterbody might be easier than Ambattur lake. “But it was stinking, I couldn’t work continuously for two hours,” she said.

Even in Thanjavur, Narmada did not get the support of locals for her work. She was able to just draw the attention of  Panchayat officials. Narmada decided to return to Chennai as she had no place to stay in Thanjavur. Narmada claims that there are about 30,400 waterbodies across Tamil Nadu, which are not maintained properly by desilting and cleaning. “The government has allocated funds for cleaning every lake. However, officials are not utilising the money,” she said.

“Even temple tanks in the state are not maintained properly. Either they are dry or polluted,” she said. Though Narmada's husband encourages her social work, he is concerned about her as she takes up the people's cause, especially issues related to environment.

“My next focus will be to go to all the Cauvery delta districts. I will choose one main lake or waterbody in each district to create awareness among farmers and the authorities concerned to preserve the waterbodies so that they need not depend on other states,” Narmada said. “After covering delta districts  such as Tiruvarur, Trichy, Nagapattinam and Salem, I will go to other districts,” she added.

“Instead of staging demonstration and launching strikes, field work is more important for people to preserve waterbodies,” she said.  The recent  “rail roko” strike by political parties, only affected people's normal life.

Narmada says it is difficult for her to get into slush and clean waterbodies. But, she is determined to continue her mission. “Public and officials have started noticing my work. I am confident that I will get support one day,” she said.

Narmada takes time off sometimes to be with her 12-year-old daughter and  nine-year-old son. Her mother takes care of children when she goes out to clean up lakes and tanks.

Armed with a teacher's experience, Narmada teaches poor school dropouts in her area without collecting any fees from them. Besides, she takes tuition to earn some money for her work.

Narmada moved to Chennai in 2002 after her marriage to Nandhakumar, who is a contract worker. She has rented out a portion of her house in Chennai to earn some extra money.

For her, Swami Vivekananda is the role model and she has created awareness and is confident of succeeding in her mission.