• Why restore the pond??

We often realize the value of key resources only when it is lost. Access to clean drinking water is a challenge today and in places like Virudhunagar, water itself is a problem considering the dry nature of the city. Going through the history of Virudhunagar and analyzing the land-use, we found that there were a large number of ponds and few water streams that fed them. Today, a majority of ponds are lost or abandoned leaving them with a thick cover of thorny Juliflora and all kinds of waste.

• How we restore ponds in Virudhunagar?

In 2015, we identified Erayanayakanoor oorani (pond) and studied its watershed area of more than 2.5 acres.Together with the people in the village, we restored the pond with water up to the brim just by removing all the  Juliflora (Karuvellam ) thorns, desilting the pond basin and opening the water inlets that brought in water from nearby catchment areas. After rains last November, the pond was full with a holding capacity of over 1 crore litres, sufficient enough for the 1200 families in the nearby villages. BUDS Trust currently maintains this pond and the villagers are consciously ensuring the pond area is clean.

Pic 1: During the removal of Juliflora

Pic 2: After removal & desilting of pond basin

Pic 3: After the first rain shower in November

Pic 4: After a 9cm rainfall in mid November, 2015
We were on cloud nine when we received calls from the villagers shouting out in joy that the pond was full & they need not worry about access to water for the next few months.

Karuppasamy Pond restoration - Project Plan:
We then realized that there was more such ponds to be restored and it is really possible to act one at a time. If one pond can be restored and maintained properly without people contaminating with waste, each of them can be the water source for over 1000 families. Now here, we are with our next project to restore the Karuppasamy Oorani (pond).

The Karuppasamy pond is about 1 acre in size. The major problem here is that the pond has a lot of plastic waste and cloth waste dumped in various areas besides being encroached by Juliflora. This is how the pond looks like:

Why we are fundraising?
We require funds right from uprooting the Juliflora, desilting, waste removal, awareness and maintenance.

What would you get?
By supporting the BUDS Team, you are being part of a community initiative to provide good quality water to close to 5000 people. Mother Nature will feel proud of you and the people will have a smile on their face cause they need not only depend on the water tanker lorry that comes home once in 25 days. We are immensely thankful for your support.

Can you help us spread the word to your friends, family, office colleagues and community? We believe that "A single man/woman can definitely make a difference". Together let's take care of our environment and make way for a better future. Its time for us now to give back to the society that has shaped us to be the person we are today.