Every Drop Counts
Martranda investigates the check dam secret
The Aspiration canyon begins from the bridge on the main road, crossing Kuilapalayam and continues to the sea, passing by Pour Tous, Aspiration, La Ferme and fields further down, all the way to the beach.
Every monsoon, we see the Kuilapalayam kolam filling up to its maximum. With the help of an over flow; it is maintained to a particular height. The remaining water is diverted to the canyon leading to the sea in very large quantities.
This water is very fast moving. It carves the canyon all along the way, deeper and wider. Fortunately, the green growth around that area still holds the earth together with its roots that reach deep down. The canyon is deepening and widening with each rain. So it goes on & presently the canyon is six meters deep and ranges from five to fifteen meters in width. The Aspiration community, Health Center, Pour Tous and the units around the area use the canyon as their drainage. Today, engineering techniques can help to slow down and preserve water and erosion.
The CHECK DAM is the secret! Every drop counts. Kireet (Gaia's Garden) along with 12 others, from the nieghbouring villages, are "slaving away" to make 4 check dams. One is situated just behind the PT Bar (snack of course) before the bridge. Two others, eight hundred meters inland from the bridge just after Quiet; are being built today. Work started in January. We attacked the Utility canyon first. Four hundred meters from the "water fall" - wonly during the rains, wof course! Towards the sea one can see a big check dam, a few meters high. We did a 'witness' during that week long rain in February, and observed huge quantities of rain water spilling away to the land of salt. A decade and a little more ago, eleven check dams were built before the Utility bridge. They were raised by a few stones, and the sand level has risen. The more water stored the better! Simple policy! Greater fruits!
Should an official letter be sent to all the horse riders, village cows and goats, that used to go through the canyon to reach the "water fall" to quench their thirst? We have deprived them of that beautiful place! Nah....vannah...paravilai. Everyone will understand and forgive Macdo style (means quickly, in slang 2000), if you wonder just a little...what these people were upto before...