S. Andakudi villagers urge authorities to find ‘missing’ farm pond

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S. Ankakudi village raising slogans at Ramanathapuram Collectorate on Monday, demanding to find the missing pond in their village. | Photo Credit: L. BALACHANDAR

Over 50 villagers from S. Andakudi village in Paramakudi taluk staged a brief demonstration and submitted a petition at the Collector’s grievance redress meeting here on Monday, stating that a farm pond constructed by the government in their village had been encroached upon and filled with soil.

A villager said a farm pond was constructed on half an acre in the village under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) employment scheme during the 2022-23 financial year.

The water stored in the pond was used to water saplings in nearby micro-forests and by the villagers, the residents said.

They alleged that an individual from the village encroached upon the pond, which was half-filled with water, and filled it with soil using a crane overnight in 2025.

“We lodged a complaint with the Revenue Department and Rural Development Department officials. Following that, in July last year, the government land where the farm pond is located was surveyed and boundary stones were planted in the presence of Revenue Department officials and the Block Development Officer,” they said.

However, the alleged encroacher removed the survey stones in August, they said.

The villagers said they had subsequently lodged complaints with officials and the police, but no action had been taken so far. They urged the Collector to take action against the encroacher and restore the farm pond.

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