Residents on the southern bank of the Vaigai river near Thoothai on the Madurai - Ramanathapuram Road have expressed fear that their villagers may face acute water shortage in near future.
While sand is being quarried in large quantity from the riverbed on the northern side of Thoothai,
in the recent past had an indirect impact on the groundwater table in the area, farmers said.
Earlier, they were able to tap groundwater within 60 to 80 feet in the hamlets. But now the groundwater table has gone down beyond 100 feet.
Further, setting up of a sand quarry on the River riverbed is all set to affect the sub-surface water availability.
Apart from posing a grave threat to the water resource, quarrying of sand has raised fears among the villagers whether the much awaited road link facility would withstand for long or not.
Road damaged
Apart from causing an irreparable damage to natural resources, continuous movement of heavy vehicles laden with blue metal on the Madurai - Ramanathapuram Road has left huge craters on the carriageway.
Further, parking of sand lorries on the highway has led to frequent traffic hold-ups .
It has created problem for motorists on the Madurai - Ramanathapuram Road.
Sand Quaries - A Threat
Emergency Services
One of the major problem in Thoothai is "Emergency Service". There is no sufficient emergency health care facilities. In case of any emergencies such as Heart Problem, Accidents, Stroke, Maternity etc; People needs to travel 30 Kms to reach Madurai for better treatment. Though there are number of nursing homes at Tiruppuvanam, Tiruppachethi, Manamadurai and Sivagangai, but there is no sufficient medical facilities / equipments.
To over come this issue, Government should introduce some new facilities like near by emergency services. Not only in Thoothai, this should be introduced in every villages in India. This may save many life.
How to Reach Thoothai
Thoothai is located at 30th Km from Madurai - Rameswaram highways. From Madurai (Periyar Bus Stand), daily 3 times buses are directly reaching Thoothai. 99b is the only direct bus root number from Madurai (Periyar Bus Stand) to Thoothai. Other than that, 99 series, towards Tiruppachethi, T. Velankulam, Idaikkattur etc. will stops in Thoothai Main Road (Thoothai Vilakku).
Or else, through 32 Series from Madurai (Periyar Bus Stand) to Tiruppuvanam, we can reach Tiruppuvanam; from there we can switch to Tiruppuvanam - Manamadurai buses (17, 21, 27) to Thoothai.
Festivals in Thoothai
Pongal festival is counted amongst the most famous and popular in our village. This harvest festival is mainly celebrated in Thoothai and it has three days duration. The three days of the festival have different names like Bhogi (first day), Pongal (second day) and Mattu Pongal (third day). The villagers decorate their houses with beautiful motifs using rice flower during the Pongal festival. Pongal is actually the name of the sweet made of the first rice. During the second day (Maattu Pongal), our villagers will clean their cattle and decorates them, later they will worship those and provides pongal to them.
One of our notable festivals is the Karthigai Deepam festival. Kaarthigai Deepam is a festival of lights, celebrated in the Tamil month of Kaarthigai. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the Kaarthigai month which coincides with Krithikai star. It is also considered as the extension of the Deepavali festival. In some houses, they double the number of lamps every day from the day of Deepavali and this way, they end up with a number of lamps on the day of Kaarthigai Deepam.
It is celebrated in a special manner in Thiruvannamalai. Lord Shiva asks Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu to find out the exact location of his head and his feet. Since Lord Shiva takes a gigantic form, they are not able to find out anywhere. Then Lord Shiva takes the form of a jyothi (light of fire) on the hill of Thiruvannamali. Therefore, this festival is also known as Annamalai Deepam. Here, a special torch is lighted on the zenith of the hill and it is believed that Lord Shiva's jothi will be visible on this day.
Lord Muruga took the form of six babies in a lake called "Saravana Poigai". On this day, all his six forms were united by Parvathi(his mother) and this way, he had six faces. Special poojas are performed to Lord Muruga.
Agriculture
Farming or agriculture has been the principal occupation for the people in Thoothai village since the ancient period. Farming in Thoothai villages is the mainstay for a majority of the total population, as they earn their livelihoods from agriculture. The people cultivate various types of crops throughout the year.
The climatic condition in Thoothai is perfectly suitable for agricultural activities and has been one of the major reasons behind people choosing farming as their principal occupation. In ancient Thoothai, farming was highly dependent on the monsoon condition and hence, most of the crops cultivated during that period were monsoon type crops. In the contemporary period, the dependency on weather has lessened with the advancement of irrigation technology and different types of crops are being cultivated in Thoothai.
People in Thoothai villages are involved with the agriculture sector in various ways. There are many people in Thoothai who cultivate crops independently in their own lands. They occasionally take help of others to do the farming. Another type of farmers in the Thoothai are those who do not have any land of their own. They help others to cultivate crops in their lands. In this way, these people are dependent on agriculture for earning their livelihoods. There are also many people in Thoothai who are involved in contract farming. In contract farming a person takes care of someone else`s land and cultivates crops in the land. He gets a certain portion of the cultivated crops at the end of the season as his rewards. This is a very common practice in Thoothai. In this way also, farming in Thoothai is providing occupation to many people.
Our Thoothai
Serenity, tranquility, quietude and innocence lace the village life in Thoothai. With the nameless - endless vast green fields, flowing rivers, chirping birds, with the swaying coconut trees, whispering the tale of love and languish to the clear blue sky, Thoothai villages bewitch, mesmerize and captivates.
Agriculture is the primary occupation of the village and is therefore reckoned as an unchangeable part of our village culture. Traditionally, caste and our village are considered as synonymous with each other. In Thoothai village life the presence of all the castes with the hierarchy of the Agamudaiyar is noticed. The caste system which originated long back has however remained unchanged in the village life in Thoothai. Although, caste system in its original sense has collapsed yet caste identities are very much present there in the village life in Thoothai. People of all castes within a village address each other by kinship terms, reflecting the fictive kinship relationships recognized within each settlement.
In short about our Village
Thoothai is a village in Sivagangai District of Tamilnadu, India. Located at 30th KM from Madurai towards Rameswaram Highway. Thoothai is surrounded with Coconut farms, Paddy field and Sugarcanes field. In short we can define it as a Green Village.
One more nature's gift to this village is river Vaigai. Starting from Periyar dam - Kerala, the river is passing through our village too and finally ends it's journey at Indian Ocean.