Tiruchy: A group of Tiruchy district Congressmen led by former DCC president Saravanan have pooled in their resources to help pilgrims and devotees visiting the
Ammamandapam bathing ghat on the northern bank of the Cauvery in Srirangam near here, access clean river water near the bank itself during lean summer months.
The Congressmen pressed an earth mover into service to divert the pure, unpolluted stretch of the Cauvery river from the middle of its broad course near Tiruchy towards the bathing ghat, which is otherwise messy and unclean for pilgrims and devotees who come there on ceremonial occasions and to perform the last rites for their departed kin.
Tens of hundreds of pilgrims also visit the Ammamandapam bathing ghat to have a dip before offering prayers at the famous Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in the island.
According to Mr. Saravanan and Jawahar, president of the Tiruchy urban district Congress unit, devotees and others often have to walk about 1.5 km from Ammammandapam bathing ghat to the middle of the river course to have a dip in the unpolluted part of the river.
Despite repeated representations to PWD authorities and municipal corporation officials on this issue, there was no response, they said, adding, this made them take up the cleanup and diversion work themselves to help devotees and general public.
