Forest Dept creates new check dams and percolation ponds inside reserve forests in Tiruchi

The Forest Department has created new check dams and percolation ponds inside various reserve forests in the district with the long-term objective of recharging groundwater inside the reserve forests and in the peripheral villages.

The Forest Department has created new check dams and percolation ponds inside various reserve forests in the district with the long-term objective of recharging groundwater inside the reserve forests and in the peripheral villages.

Five check dams and three percolation ponds have been created in 2022-23 at chosen locations inside reserve forests, under the Tiruchi Forest Range, which serves as a habitation for monkeys, deer and birds. 

The new check dams have been constructed inside reserve forests at Vellakalpatti, Pulivalam, Thachankurichi and Nedungur inside which such structures have already been created earlier. The new percolation ponds have been established inside reserve forests at Veeramachanpatti, Pagalavadi and Mavilipatti. The new water structures inside reserve forests have been created at a total cost of around ₹61 lakh with NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) funding, said a Forest Department official.

The construction works of new percolation ponds and check dams at the chosen locations have been completed to store water during rains. The check dams were created across streams within the reserve forests to help in storing water. Bunds have been created around the percolation ponds to store water during rains. The Forest Department had already created 92 check dams and 40 percolation ponds in 15 reserve forests falling under the limits of the Tiruchi Forest Range alone. 

The official said maintenance works have been carried out in nine old check dams and a couple of old percolation ponds in Tiruchi Forest Range during the 2022-23 fiscal at a cost of around ₹15 lakh. Water stored in the percolation ponds and check dams during rains would help in recharging groundwater not only within the reserve forest areas but also in the peripheral villages adjoining them thereby helping farmers engaged in cultivation. Further, water storage in such structures would also help in meeting the water requirements of animals and birds in reserve forests. 

The official said several monkeys which had entered residential localities at different places in the district in search of food and water were trapped and safely released in nearby reserve forests for their survival. Besides monkeys, the reserve forests also has spotted deer and wild boars.