Confronted with scarcity of water and its virtual disappearance is what triggered the making of R. Manikandan turning into Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore water warrior. Witnessing the plight of a family dependent on water from a well – which had gone dry – he investigated and found it was due to a damaged check dam, he swung into action and got it repaired.
That was the turning point in 39-year-old Manikandan’s life who is now devoted to revival of water bodies in his area. The school dropout as a youngster made Annai Indira Nagar residents pool in their resources to complete a drinking water pipeline project which was stalled due to lack of funds.
All this egged him along with several youngsters in 2017 to form Kovai Kulangal Pathukappu Amaippu which means Coimbatore Ponds Protection Organisation dedicated to rejuvenating and reviving the region’s water bodies.
Sharing the organisation’s aims he told Better India: “We decided to focus on reviving those water bodies that were neglected and needed maintenance and to establish a bond with the local community to ensure future maintenance.”
KKPA’s first work was to reclamation of the 264-acre Perur Lake. With the help of volunteers, in four Sundays they cleared the lake bed of shrubs, plastic waste, thorny trees and other waste. The lake got filled with monsoon water after 12 long years.
The organisation’s recent efforts ensured relocation of people residing near Vellalore lake. Using the Miyawaki method, they planted 25,000 native tree species and 10,000 varieties of flowering plants and today the place attracts 150 birds and 98 varieties of butterflies.
The NGO now wants to save the Noyyal river from pollution and also increase greenery there. To begin with they managed to convince devotees not to leave food offerings made to their forefathers in the river and instead feed the needy.
Bestowed with the Water Warrior Award in 2020, Manikandan wants to document 1,200 Coimbatore ponds and put them in the public domain. The group wants to help civic authorities in dealing with encroachment of water bodies and their replenishment.
