Fetching a few pots of water from a near empty deep well in Vazhapandal, a remote tribal village along Jawadhu Hills in the Vellore range, has been a challenge for residents during summers. They mostly depend on tractors carrying water tanks to meet the village’s needs once a week.
In recent weeks, Forest Department officials of the Vellore division have been laying pipelines to provide safe drinking water to the tribal hamlets.
The initiative, which slowed down due to the pandemic, is being monitored by Prince Kumar, District Forest Officer (DFO), Vellore. “As these tribal hamlets help us in protecting our forests, we contribute to their welfare in whatever way possible. The need of every tribal village along forest fringes varies,” P. Ravikumar, Forest Range Officer (FRO), Vellore told The Hindu.
Small hillocks that form part of Jawadhu Hills, including Alleri, Kurumalai, Palampattu, and Mullvadi, consists of 68 tribal hamlets that come under Anaicut taluk of Vellore. These hillocks are a continuation of the Jawadhu Hills bordering Tiruvannamalai. Each of these, on an average, has around five hamlets with a total population of around 400 families in each.
Each village along the Reserve Forest (RF) is identified based on needs. Regular water supply and bitumen roads are two major needs.
In the first phase, 17 tribal hamlets in Vellore and Odugathur ranges are getting water pipelines. Being a rocky terrain, these villages get a borewell to a depth of 600 ft each from where water will be drawn and filled in a 2000-litre tank. The project costs ₹7.08 lakh for each village.
The local panchayat will maintain the facility and provide uninterrupted water supply to the residents. Common water taps have been installed for every eight houses in the village. Schools, government health centres and other government facilities in these villages will get separate water pipelines.
At present, the initiative is being spearheaded in Vellore and Odugathur forest ranges due to the locations having thickly populated tribal hamlets.
