| Ponnempadam Kala Samithi, Vazhayoor Panchayat, Malappuram District |
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Ponnempadam village has an Arts Club or ‘Kala Samithi’ that is now venturing into fields not strictly artistic. In fact they are not channelising their talents to bring water to this thirsty village by harvesting rain water using cement and steel structures.
Ponnempadam in Vazhayoor Panchayat in Malappuram District receives good rain, especially in the elevated reaches of the village. But it is a sad fact that with the onset of summer, water scarcity sets in. As a solution to this perennial problem, the Arts Club has taken a leadership role to provide rain water harvesting structures for the needy in the village.
The Club’s survey had short listed 84 families as the most deserving, who are to be provided 5000 or 6000 litre tanks to be part sponsored by the Central agency, Council for Advancement of People’s Action, CAPART. These airtight and sunlight-proof tanks with filtering units can store rain water without spoiling for months together. While the agency meets 75% of the cost, the balance is to be borne by the beneficiaries. However, since the beneficiaries in this case are poor families, their contribution is collected in kind rather than cash. The beneficiaries have to provide food for the labourers and broken stone and sand for concreting.
With 20 tanks already completed, one can say that the Kala Samithi has already put up some utilitarian sculptures in the barren landscape of Ponnempadam.
Courtesy: Malayala Manorama, May 1, 2004
Contributed by: Administrator
