After thermocol fiasco, Tamil Nadu to now float plastic balls to prevent water evaporation

While social media is having a field day with the failed experiment of Cooperatives Minister Sellur Raju, the Tamil Nadu government is now set to do another experiment to prevent water evaporation.

The PWD engineers in Madurai have decided to study the model of floating plastic balls, in the Vaigai reservoir to prevent water evaporation following the model originally used in Los Angeles, America.

The shade balls as they are called, were released into the Los Angeles reservoir in 2008 to prevent water evaporation.

However, speaking exclusively to India Today, Madurai Collector Veeraraghava Rao said that this time they will be extra cautious following the previous embarrassment.

While justifying the failed thermocol experiment, he said, "We seriously wanted to make a small trial. Evaporation level was high so they wanted to do something. We wanted to put balls but it was not available. So we used thermocol. We should have tried it first before putting it on public view. but the pilot is small. Only 200 square-meter of area was used. "

Talking on the proposal for floating balls to prevent evaporation, The Madurai collector said, "Now because so many people are criticising the earlier move, we want to do it after a proper study."

ENVIRONMENTALISTS SLAMMED THERMOCOL EXPERIMENT

Meanwhile, environmentalists have lashed out at the thermocol experiment, dubbing the experiment unnecessary and harmful for the



environment.

Speaking to India Today, Ramkumar, environmentalist and activist, said "Tamil Nadu government has come up with a fancy experiment. But this is an unlikely option because of the size of the water body. We are undergoing severe drought situations because we don't know how to store water. Water can be saved by digging small bore-wells. That's the only way.

He further said,"The use of thermocol is not even environment friendly. If you cover water bodies you are stopping water synthesis. Water then ceases to remain portable. This is wholly unnecessary."

EXPERIMENT WAS RIDICULOUS: EX- BUREAUCRAT

MG Devasahayam , former bureaucrat and activist also commented on the fancy experiments, saying, "A comedy was enacted that day by Sellur Raju and team of officials. They went about with thermocol sheets to cover the area to prevent evaporation. It's so ridiculous. It has brought too much ridicule for the state government. Now they are talking about putting plastic balls. It might affect the fisheries.

"None of these experiments were tested beforehand. Recently, they used buckets to take out oil spill. I was not surprised because Jayalalithaa after tsunami did something similar. She gave an official memorandum to raise a 20-feet-wall along the entire length of 1000 km long coast of Tamil Nadu, to prevent further damage from tsunami. She was the leader they worshipped. So we can't expect anything else from her supporters."