COIMBATORE: Two farmers have donated 35 cents of land, valued at lakhs of rupees, to expand the Chettikuttai tank in Coimbatore district after officials flagged that the waterbody’s existing area was insufficient to store adequate water. The donation aims at facilitating restoration work and increasing the water body’s storage capacity.Chettikuttai at Kaduvettipalayam, included in the Athikadavu–Avinashi project, could store only limited water due to its small spread. Following a request by the organisation and govt officials, local farmers agreed to donate adjacent land to increase storage capacity. R Saravanan donated 19 cents, and R Chandrasekhar donated 16 cents, taking the total to 35 cents.The Kaduvettipalayam panchayat special officer issued an acceptance letter for the parcels of land, and the donation was formally registered in favour of govt at the Annur sub-registrar office.Kausika Neer Karangal president Selvaraj said several farmers in the vicinity had expressed willingness to donate land worth several lakhs of rupees for the project, and the current donation marked the first phase. He said the expansion would help improve groundwater levels, support farming and livestock rearing, and ease drinking water shortages.The farmers who donated land were felicitated in the presence of volunteers and other farmers, with the move drawing appreciation given the high land value in the Coimbatore region.
