Tamil Nadu: Floats tons of thermocol sheets to prevent water loss
- The initiative failed within 15 minutes.
- The state spent Rs 10 lakh on this so called water conservation programme.
- It was launched by Co-operatives Minister Sellur Raju.
FollowTamil Nadu is currently reeling under severe drought condition that requires the immediate attention of the state machinery but looks like that has to wait.
However, in the meantime, an over zealous Tamil Nadu minister thought floating sheets of thermocal taped together might prevent the water from evaporating.
Co-operatives Minister Sellur Raju but now has become a butt of joke after his creative idea of setting afloat sheets of thermocol taped together on the Vaigai dam back fired. The initiative executed by the Public Works Department cost the state exchequer Rs. 10 lakh but sadly did not address the issue.
The plan failed barely 15 minutes after PWD workers dumped tens of thermocol sheets on the water, nearly 50 metres away from the bank, as all the sheets got washed ashore due to heavy winds. Many of those sheets, which were not more than two centimetres even broke as well.
The minister later held discussions with PWD experts on ways to overcome the problem of wind and water flow, which led to the sheets drifting in various directions, officials said. Water from the Vaigai dam flows through six water starved districts of south Tamil Nadu including Madurai, Sivaganga,Ramanathpuram Theni and Dindigul districts.
On this technique, Raju merely said the "thermocol covering technology" was received from a "source." Journalists, who were part of the team taken to the spot to demonstrate the 'technology', found there were not enough sheets to cover the water. Raju said such methods are used abroad to reduce evaporation and that experts would also be consulted for these initiatives.
Madurai Collector K Veera Raghava Rao said different methods would be adopted or experimented to save water which is in 10-12 hectares of waterspread area in the Vaigai dam. He said 1.2 Million Cubic Feet of water is lost due to evaporation every day. On use of thermocol, he said this was done as the material was non-polluting.
But Rathnam, a scientist, differed, saying thermocol is non-biodegradable and can harm fish when they break into pieces.
While Tamil Nadu's this plan may have backfired, California had floated shade balls to battle drought. How about trying this method as well? [Watch Video]
