Raising The Hope Of A Bumper Crop

A Cauvery in spate and the tireless efforts of groups of local youth in desilting water bodies have boosted the prospects of a bountiful harvest in much of the delta region. But certain issues that adversely impact farmers and the success of their crops remain unresolved.

- T. Ramakrishnan

Peravurani — the name itself — means ‘big pond’. But not long ago, the key waterbody of this tier-III town, situated about 75 km south of Thanjavur, presented a picture of neglect and misuse. Today, it is showing signs of a revival, thanks to an initiative by a group of local youth.

“This summer, when we were in the midst of a water crisis, my friends and I decided to focus our attention on the plight of our tank, which we call periya eri (big tank). Though the tank serves three main villages, no one came forward to renovate it. It was then that we decided to take it upon ourselves to inject a fresh lease of life into our eri,” says V. Karthikeyan, a postgraduate in management.

In less than three months, he and many other youth of the area have helped deepen the tank, raise the height of the bund by 4-5 metres, form a bund on the northern side of the tank and widen the bund. Though the district administration and the Public Works Department (PWD) gave them the goahead without much hassle, the youth had to face scepticism from sections of elders in Peravurani and nearby areas. “While some made fun of us, others tried to discourage us, saying we will not be able to go on with our initiative beyond a week, as only the PWD was best equipped to do the work,” says Nimal Raghavan, a techie by profession and a resident of the area.

But these doubting Thomases relented when they witnessed the zeal with which the youth were carrying out their work. “We felt excited and privileged when the people of the Pongadu and Pazhaya Peravurani villages gave us their contributions – ₹1.8 lakh and ₹1.5 lakh, respectively,” Mr. Raghavan adds.