Four large water bodies that once served as traditional rainwater
harvesting systems in the town panchayats of Sholinghur, Timiri and
Kalavai in Vellore district are all set to get a new lease of life,
thanks to the NABARD assisted ‘Oorani Development Scheme’ under the
Rural Infrastructure Development Fund availed by the State government
for the year 2012-13. The four water bodies are part of the 234
traditional water bodies in 143 town panchyats in the State that would
be revived under this scheme at an estimated cost of `54 crore.

Assistant
director of Town Panchayats Malayaman Thirumudikarai said the four
ponds would be renovated at a cost of `2.2 crore and the work had
already begun. The Appangarakulam and Thirukulam in Sholinghur will be
renovated at a cost of `97 lakh and `30 lakh, respectively, while the
Perumal temple kulam at Kalavai and Theppakulam at Timiri will get a
facelift at a cost of `50 lakh and `43 lakh, respectively.

The
Appangarakulam spread across an area of 4.7 acres has been in disuse for
many years. The Oorani scheme announced by the Chief Minister last year
had restored the hopes of the revival of the two ponds. Now that
Sholinghur has been elevated as a ‘heritage town’ with an allocation of
`1 crore state fund to spruce up the town, the other water bodies in the
town would also be revived.

The Oorani project aims at reviving
Appangarakulam besides providing revetment of the walls on all sides.
The water inlet and outlet of this pond would be cleaned up while the
entire pond would be desilted to a depth of 3 metres. Sit-outs will also
be provided along the pathway. “We would like to make this water body a
star attraction in the town and a recreation spot so that the locals
and the pilgrims who visit the ancient temples in the town can spend
their free time purposefully,” Thirumudikarai added.

The other
three ponds in the area, ranging from one acre to two acres,  which will
be taken up in the Oorani project, are also likely to be developed in
the similar manner not only to improve the ground water level in the
locality but also to give a fillip to farming activities.