olunteers of Crew, a non-governmental organisation, are restoring a decades-old temple pond at Aadhanur in Kancheepuram district. It’s a temple dedicated to Lord Siva.

“The water at the pond is 6ft deep and is used for irrigational purpose, serving an area of 50 acres around the pond,” said P.V. Dhanasekhar, an environmental activist.

A few residents said that rainwater from stormwater drains and excess water from Aadhanur Eri is being discharged into the pond. Moreover, the Aadhanur panchayat draws water from the pond for supplying drinking water to residents.

“For this, the panchayat has constructed two borewells to suck water from the pond and then filters the water before it goes to the overhead tank, which caters to nearly 500 families,” residents added.

“The pond is a rich source of groundwater. For de-silting and deepening the pond, members have requested the members of the Temple committee to dry the pond. Even after an attempt to dry the pond, the water level did not dip,” a few volunteers said.

“Once de-silted, the soil can be used for strengthening the bunds and soil on the bunds can be used for agriculture. As part of the restoration work, new pathways will also be created. The pathway opposite the temple on the eastern side will be re-constructed,” Dhanasekhar said.

It must be noted that some of the volunteers involved in this clean-up work had earlier restored the Kolathchi Amman Temple Pond in Urapakkam, with the help of Makkal Pathai, an NGO.