Youth remove weeds, reclaim heritage site land

MADURAI: Few months ago, the five-acre stretch near Yanamalai, a heritage site near Madurai, was full of prosopis julifora – the invasive exotic tree. But local youngsters from Y Kodikulam were determined to clear this weed without waiting for the authorities to act.
They have cleared five acres of land and planted nearly 250 saplings of native tree species in place of the julifora trees.
Yanaimalai hillock is an ancient site near Madurai city, where Jain beds and inscriptions in Brahmi Tamil letters can be found. DHAN Foundation on Sunday organised a heritage walk into the Y Kodikulam village, where the participants saw for themselves how the proactive attitude of village youth was changing the landscape of Yanaimalai.
Seventy-five-year-old M Kambalathai from the village recalled her childhood, when the locality was free of prosopis trees. “There used to be many Iluppai trees and many of them were more than 200 years old by then. The evening breeze used to bring the sweet fragrance of the flowers from those trees. But there are only five trees left and prosopis are the only kind we see all around now,” she said.
In spite of changing times, the villagers still hold on to their ancient heritage. The village tank is still pure enough to provide drinking water to the people. “This water is holy for us and we don’t pollute the water bodies. It is believed that the water from tank can cure diseases. It is heartening to see our youngsters clearing prosopis trees to safeguard the water tank,” said V Sathishbabu, former panchayat president.
Not stopping with 250 tree saplings, the youngsters have decided to plant 1,000 trees in the cleared land. “From our elderly people we learnt the heritage of our village and wanted to do something for it. We will turn the village green by planting more trees in the coming months,” said V Raja, a youth from the village.