Drought Relief work in Tamil Nadu
Project Report as on 1 July 2017
Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home, Chennai started major drought rehabilitation operations in the drought-affected villages of Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts in the month of May. After a pilot project ascertained Pond-desilting, installation of Hand-drill bore-pumps and Cement-Ring-Well construction as the best operations to aid the affected, a massive drought-rehabilitation project was planned and is being implemented. This project, being undertaken in phases in 50 villages (25 villages each in Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts) is expected to be completed in 3 or 4 months. Under this project, the following have been completed:
Desilting of ponds and small wells
- Desilting of ponds: Many ponds in these areas have silted up and dried and therefore fallen into disuse. So far, we have completed the desilting of 6 ponds (4 in Nagapattinam district and 2 in Thiruvarur district) in this area. Nearly 2200 families living in nearby villages are benefitted by this project.
- Desilting of small wells: Like the ponds, many small wells in these areas were clogged with weeds and needed desiltation. 3 small wells in Nagapattinam were cleaned and water from these wells are now widely used.
Excavation of borewells
- Excavation of borewells and installing of hand-pumps: We have excavated 22 borewells, along with hand-pumps, in 22 villages (10 in Nagapattinam district and 12 in Thiruvarur district). The borewells are providing drinking water to around 1380 families living in nearby areas.
Excavation of cement-ring wells
- Excavation of cement-ring wells with hand-pumps: We also undertook the excavation of 7 cement-ring borewells with hand-pumps in Nagapattinam district. The cement-ring borewells have a diameter of 3 feet and are 20 feet deep. These borewells are providing potable water to a total of 700 households living in nearby areas. Further projects are being undertaken.
Installation of deep-borewells
- We have also installed deep-borewells in Kodiyalathur panchayat in Nagapattinam district and Puliyoor village in Tiruvarur district. These deep-borewells serve the drinking water needs of the locality.
The project is underway and will be further expanded depending on the ground situation and availability of funds.