Author: D Madhavan
Publication: The Times of India
Date: June 5, 2011
URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-05/developmental-issues/29623132_1_major-j-b-taylor-temple-tank-madhanagopal
During his childhood days, K Madhanagopal
would avoid the road where the 300-year-old Siva Subramania Swamy Temple is
situated in Chennai's suburban Alandur. He preferred a longer route. Madhanagopal's
mother had told him there was a ghost in the temple tank.
Now 79, Madhanagopal laughs at his mother's
bid to prevent him from playing near the tank, which was always brimming with
water. Later on, mothers didn't have to weave the story, as the tank went
dry and became a dumping yard.
In 2003, Madhanagopal decided to exorcise
the ghost. He, along with a group of residents of the locality, started cleaning
up the tank. It took them six years and Rs 14 lakh to renovate the structure.
The municipality contributed Rs 8 lakh, while the residents pooled in the
rest. Given a second life, the tank has pushed up the water table in the surrounding
areas.
While the government makes much noise on setting
up rainwater harvesting structures, people like Madhanagopal are getting together
to rejuvenate scores of temple tanks in Chennai's southern suburbs to reclaim
some of the land's lost charm and water resources. "As our country is
a land of temples, people readily volunteer to renovate them. We took it as
a religious duty, and it helped us conserve water and recharge the water table,"
says Madhanagopal.
Constructed in 1881 by villagers from the
money given by Major J B Taylor, the then magistrate of the Cantonment Board
(now known as St Thomas Mount & Pallavaram Cantonment Board), the temple
tank fulfilled a long felt need of residents - it is the tradition in Hindu
religion to have a tank in every temple. Devotees would take holy dips in
it.
During times when the temple and life around
it flourished, the tank was the main source of water supply to the residents.
Temple tanks have been found to recharge the water table and store excess
water during monsoon.
Of the 3,000 water bodies in Kancheepuram,
over 1,000 lakes, ponds, streams and tanks are in the city's southern suburbs.
There are 200 of them in Tambaram. There were many more, which were destroyed
by the concrete constructions on IT Corridor since the late 1990s. Some of
the surviving ones are in bad shape because of neglect by the state agencies.
"Involvement by locals is the key to
execution of any development projects. For years, this has been proved through
restoration of temple tanks and other water bodies like lakes, which helps
water conservation," says N G Anuthaman, associate professor at the Centre
for Water Resources, Anna University.
Experts see a shift from the concept of community
participation to community involvement in water conservation. Restoration
of one of the biggest water bodies in city suburbs last year was possible
because of active involvement of local residents.
Prior to that, each night, a team of 10 residents
in Pammal would keep watch over the Tirupananthal lake, between 11pm and 5am,
to prevent tanker lorries from dumping untreated sewage into it. Residents,
armed with lathis and torchlights, would take turns every night to guard the
tank.
Their commitment paid off in December last
year when the 20-acre-lake was thrown open to the public after a Rs 78 lakh
restoration - more than half of it mobilized by residents.
"People are the real guardians of natural
resources, be it water, land or air. When responsibility is given to them,
they become committed to the cause," says Alandur legislator P Dhansingh.
