Siruthuli, a public initiative to conserve water bodies, launched here on Monday a project to clean River Noyyal over a one-km stretch from Padithurai at Perur to the Coimbatore Anaicut at Rs. 45 lakh. The aim was to remove the bushes and enable a good flow in the river during the North-East Monsoon.
The project also included various development activities in that area such as landscaping, creating a walkers’ path, artificial waterfalls and planting of saplings. The northern bank of the river at Padithurai would be strengthened and a bathing ghat would be constructed. A new bund would be constructed on the southern bank. A net would be provided to filter the waste in the river and sewage inflow would be arrested.
Park
Launching the project, president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahendra Ramdas said the Chamber of Commerce would establish a park and model rainwater harvesting structures. “The Chamber will team up with Siruthuli hereafter to sensitise people to the need for conservation,” he said.
Mr. Ramdas handed over to a girl a vessel filled with water, to mark the launch of the project. This symbolised conservation of water resources for the posterity.
Mr. Ramdas appreciated the efforts of Siruthuli to conserve tanks in and around the city and its major project to revive the river. He said Siruthuli turned things around when the city and the surrounding areas were reeling under water scarcity, with the groundwater table having plummeted. By doing so, Siruthuli had proved to be a sustainable conservation programme.
Mr. Ramdas pointed out that more efforts on this front were needed because the demand for water had gone up by six times since 1900 and already States within the country had long-standing disputes over the sharing of river water.
Managing Trustee of Siruthuli Vanita Mohan explained how important it was to protect water resources from abuse and conserve them for posterity. Project Director of the Siruthuli K. Mylswami made a presentation on the conservation measures done so far and the Noyyal restoration project.
