Interlinking national rivers to get over the prevailing water crisis in the nation is not a feasible solution at all as it would pave way only for disturbing the brittle, riverine eco-system, which indeed supports a host of flora and fauna. The flow of the river should not get disturbed as it meant disturbing the natural equilibrium of a natural eco-system. To cite an example the Farakka barrage built across Ganga in West Bengal is constantly posing flood threat in Bihar, as the natural flow of the river was blocked and so its demolition was recommended by environmentalist said Piyush Manush, Environmental activist and Founder of Salem Citizen Forum.

Piyush Manush, while addressing the students at Government College of Technology on the topic and “Water and Us” said that some fish species swim up to the foot hills of Himalayas to lay eggs, and if the river course is suddenly interrupted in the Himalayan rivers it would pave way for dying of many flora and fauna endemic to these river systems. The same applies to the peninsular rivers too.

“Local Water Management is vital both during rainy and summer seasons. Even though Tamil Nadu witnessed floods about a year back, now we are facing at an acute drought situation, solely due to lack of water management. We seemed to have no laws to check the unbridled ground water extraction and exploitation indulged in by the big corporate companies. But of late, there is some awareness on this front. People in Chennai have risen in protest against ground water extraction and tankers supplying water to IT corridor in Chennai,” Piyush said.

“The cost of transporting water too has become a costly affair. While for Tiruppur the water is drawn from Bhavani and for Ramanathapuram district from Cauvery in Tiruchi. This kind of costs could be saved if the local water resources are renovated and kept in shape by the local communities,” he added.

We Tamils, as a community, have failed to conserve water bodies and instead are out to destroying them. Thousands of water bodies are completely encroached upon in the name of development. Water bodies have disappeared in large number as they have given way to houses, bus stands and stadium and other structures. “Water bodies, thus encroached upon, should be reclaimed by demolishing the structures,” the activist said.

In Salem, we have started with renovation of Mookenari Lake, a 58-acre water body at the foot hills of Shevoroy Hills in 2010. The desilted earth was used to create islands in the water spread and over 12,000 trees planted in all the islands, which are flourishing now. Following which four other lakes including Ammanpettai Lake, Kudukkal Lake, and Ismailkhan Lake were renovated, which helped in the conservation of water due to which the ground water level improved around the city.