Meet the farmers' body conserving water, one lake at a time

After having made a difference in the Delta, KAIFA has now expanded its reach — the organisation is now involved in cleaning lakes in other districts in TN

A silent revolution is sweeping across the Cauvery Delta region led by youngsters who are involved in desilting and cleaning lakes in their villages and towns to conserve Cauvery River water and rainwater.

Water bodies that were desilted and cleaned are now brimming with water. This not just ensures that there is enough water for agriculture but also helps recharge groundwater. Over 100 such water bodies have been revived by a number of organisations, notable among them is the Kadaimadai Area Integrated Farmers Association (KAIFA). KAIFA alone has undertaken 98 such projects in the past two years.

After having made a difference in the Delta, KAIFA has now expanded its reach — the organisation is now involved in cleaning lakes in Tirunelveli, Pudukkottai, Sivaganga and Thoothukudi districts.

Not just desilting and cleaning the lakes, the group also sets up soil boundary walls⁠ — four km on one side, 12.5 km on another, besides deepening the lake and raising the height of the existing bund by 4-5 metres.

Also Read | Cauvery, a lifeline trickling away

“Once the lake is deepened, it can store more quantity of water. This has a direct correlation with groundwater recharge,” said Nimal Raghavan, a co-founder of KAIFA.

Just 13 km from Thanjavur, the granary of Tamil Nadu, stands a grand lake spread across an area of 642 acres in Kallaperambur village.

Around 120 acres of the sprawling lake has so far been cleaned, bringing smiles on the faces of farmers who depend on Cauvery water for irrigation. The desilting work is done by youngsters, farmers, and NGOs with help from private firms under a scheme revived by the erstwhile AIADMK government.

“Cauvery water is our lifeline. While there is a need to use every drop of Cauvery water judiciously, we should also conserve the rainwater that is available. Water conservation is very crucial and that is why we are focusing on conserving every drop of water,” said P Ravichandran, a research scholar from the village who was part of the exercise.

“By desilting and deepening the lakes, we can store both the Cauvery water and rainwater that might come handy for farmers in the case of failure of monsoon,” M Khulothungan, another villager, added.

While a major part of the funds was sanctioned by the government, local farmers also pitched in by contributing Rs 10 lakh for the project executed by Nambikai Vizhudugal and KAIFA, Exnora International and Tamil Manam.

Check out latest DH videos here