Hello and welcome to The Hindu's live chat on Madras Day. Happy Madras Day to all of you!
We have with us Mr. M.Karmegam, the former director of Centre for Water Resources, Anna University.
As part of the Madras Week celebrations where we published a series of reports celebrating our very own Cooum river, we have experts joining us to chat on the river, its past and its future lakshmi.immanuel
Thanks for calling me for the chat friends by mkaarmegam
We also have with us Susan Mathew, IAS, the Vice Chairperson of CMDA. And K. Lakshmi, The Hindu's Special Correspondent.
How realistic is it to revive cooum river on the likes of Singapore river pls by lakshmi.immanuel
It is not impossible but a very arduous task as our experience proves. by susmat51
Yes you have to bring back the Cooum else Chennai will suffer very badly by mkaarmegam
sorry it is possible but needs will power on the part of the stake holders by mkaarmegam
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clear all encroachments along the banks of coovum by seini
Susan, what have been some of the initiatives taken by the authorities over the years to revive the Cooum? by Mandira Moddie
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Could you tell us the origin of the name of this river. by Chatur Vasi
lakshmi.immanuel its located in Cooum village originates from cooum tank tiruvallur
Could you say where exactly it originates so I can go and see it? by Chatur Vasi
lakshmi.immanuel It originates from Cooum tank . the surplus water from kesavaram anicut falling in arakkonam panchayat union is diverted to the tank.
The origin is in Tiruvallur district. by susmat51
Thank you susma51 by Chatur Vasi
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Will it not be a stupendous task to remove encroachments and resettle homeless people living on its banks? by Chatur Vasi
stop discharging sewage into coovam then it will become purified by seini
Why the government is not showing political will to clear encroachments on Cooum? by Kumar
What are the problems. Can we have some specifics, please? by Chatur Vasi
The TN Govt. have time and again formulated projects for cleaning up the Cooum, right from1967 when Thiru CN Annadurai was the CM by susmat51
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I think the question on many people's minds is whether Cooum can ever be 'restored'. Mr. Karmegam, Ms. Mathew, what will be your predictions by Ramya
Successive Govts have been trying. by susmat51
I am hopeful, definitely. by susmat51
The reasons for the river to be so polluted are many by susmat51
Some of which are- the discharge of untreated sewage, by susmat51
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Is it possible for Cooum water to be cleaned, so that it can be made available for stray animals atleast? by Rozario
manikandan.journalist Nothing is impossible, just that mega river transformation projects have to be implemented in double quick time. I think the State government and Chennai missed it, not just once, but in repeated attempts
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where can we start to witness a visible change in the river Ms.Mathew, Mr.Karmegam by lakshmi.immanuel
Clearing encroachments may be a difficult task but stopping pollution can done easily by mkaarmegam
Ramya Thanks for that! Stopping pollution means treating the river, and stop polluting it further. If our sewage doesnt drain into the Cooum, where will it go?
industrial effluents and encroachments by susmat51
The Pollution Control Board has done some work. by susmat51
Industrial effluents as well as sewage by mkaarmegam
Some industries have been prevented from discharging raw effluents. by susmat51
Ramya oh! o.k. city-based, or further up in the course o the Cooum?
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@ChennaiConnect Is it feasible to have transportation by boats in Cooum in the near future? #MadrasDay by Chozhaventhar via twitter
Till the start of the 20th Century, boating was possible. by susmat51
There is the Chennai River Restoration Trust taking some steps. by susmat51
There was an attempt to introduce boating but unfortunately the project was not completed by mkaarmegam
The Corporation of Chennai along with the Trust, Metro Water Board, TN Pollution Control Board, PWD and TN Slum Clearance Board are the agencies involved in this mammoth task. by susmat51
Several boat jetties along the cooum river stand testimony to this. hope boating will get revived by lakshmi.immanuel
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PCB cannot be effective as industries are arrogant and bypass every law of the land by venkay srini
manikandan.journalist You are right. They need to be effective, efficient and ensure laws of the land prevail, but problems are so huge that TNPCB cannot ensure 100 per cent compliance
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Has the visit of members of Singapore Cooperation Enterprise yielded any result? by Kumar
manikandan.journalist The last we hear is their proposal is lying with the State government. The cost and technical factors i think are pending with the TN government
lakshmi.immanuel the mandate was signed in the previous regime. the present government has gone for a detailed project report again to implement the scheme
Cleaning the Cooum is one of the dream projects of the Govt. by susmat51
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The Cooum river was shown well in the movie Madrasapattinam. Boat rides on the clean water. by Kokila
manikandan.journalist That is probably the wish of every Chennai resident too...to see Cooum that way
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People living on the banks are not homeless. Slum dwellers are political settlers and needed for the vote bank. Clear them first and 75% of the problems will be solved. by Sri
manikandan.journalist The State government has drawn up massive relocation plans, but shifting families too not an easy task
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What is the future of the hutments on the banks of the river ? by Nirmala
lakshmi.immanuel government agencies are providing space in outskirts like Perumbakkam and Ezhil Nagar
In the near future? Ah, we can dream! And we can talk of the past. If encroachments are removed, will vote banks also be wiped out? by Chatur Vasi
Resettlement of the homeless has been done successfully elsewhere. by susmat51
Cooum is "clean"at its origin, but the city pollutes it. by susmat51
Friends of Chennai can jointly give a fillip to the Govt's efforts . by susmat51
manikandan.journalist Certainly Ma'am. We will continue to support the cause and highlight issues
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So many acres of government land is in and around Chennai, for instance the Governor's residence (huge grounds) and Corportation lands must add up to more than 1000 acres. Why not use them to a small extent to house the slum dwellers. YOu cannot send them to live in the outskirts and have them commute 2 hours everyday to work in the city. by Hema Raman
manikandan.journalist That is very valid point. Families have been living there for decades, out of sheer location. You are very right in stating that they must be relocated as close to their original homes as possible, sending them to new locations far away is a big problem to them.
The land around the Raj Bhavan is classified as Forest. No residential activity is allowed there for environmental reasons. by susmat51
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The Chennai Corporation earmarked Rs. 100 crore for developing infrastructure for preventing solid waste pollution of the river. Has anything materialised or it is still on paper? by Kumar
manikandan.journalist It was a recently announced project, but we will try make a status check of it. We must also acknowledge that by creating new Sewage Treatment Plants, the TN government, through Chennai Metrowater has prevented the discharge of several million litres of raw sewage into Cooum.
Thank you for your response, Mr. Manikandan by Kumar
manikandan.journalist My pleasure sir!
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What can we as citizens do to help in controlling the pollution around the river? by Akansha
lakshmi.immanuel we must first see to it that we dont dump garbage around it
There ought to be stringent garbage disposal rules. All over the city. by susmat51
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Let BJP come to power in TN, we will turnaround Cooum. twitter.com/the_hindu/stat…by gopitweet via twitter
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@ChennaiConnect its not a overnight process to recover #cooum first thing is drainage n the awarness should create from school students.. by Karunakaramoorthy J via twitter
Civic sense should be generated right from the school level. by susmat51
Is there any regulatory system in Cooum to clean the river? by Raman Viswanathan
Syllabi needs modification. by susmat51
Multiple agencies are involved. by susmat51
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TN govt should take concrete steps to restore the landmark river so that the Central govt can take a leaf out of this project for the Ganga's clean-up by Kumar
The State Government has given administrative sanction for projects to prevent accumulation of solid waste along the Cooum. Chennai Corporation floated bids for the projects recently. Bids for development of nine parks and walkways have also been floated. But huts in 35 neighbourhoods have to be removed for the project. by aloysius xavier lopez
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In recent history, has any polluted river or water body been restored anywhere in the world? by Harthi
manikandan.journalist I am not too sure, but sadly in India, the number of polluted rivers has gone up to 275, twice more compared to five years ago. This is according to official data from Central PCB. Sad state of affairs in India
lakshmi.immanuel Singapore river was just like ours until a few decades ago
San Antonio in US, River Thames in England are examples, by susmat51
Now we can dream about board walk as done in San Antonio! by Chatur Vasi
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@ChennaiConnect Like rain water harvesting for homes, we can plan proper rain water management with Cooum as a storage cum reservoir river. by Chozhaventhar via twitter
All days are madras day.. We have to keep the city clean and pollution free.. I can join the intiative for clean chennai by Srinisundar
The mouth of the River has to be regularly dredged by susmat51
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BJP Govt. sanctioned Rs.1,00,000 crores to clean Ganga. We can approach central Govt. to clean Cooum. by Raman Viswanathan
Successive Govts in the Centre have been introducing Clean Ganga Projects. It is not a new initiative. by susmat51
I think Shri TN Seshan when he was Secretary Environment started the Clean Ganga Project. by susmat51
Mr. Raman, the Centre okayed only 20,000 crore budget for Ganga clean-up. Get your facts right by Kumar
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Let's hope those footpaths will remainfootpaths and not stands for shops and parks will remain parks and not playfields. by Chatur Vasi
lakshmi.immanuel in places like swami sivananda salai and Langs garden road fencing have remained intact. lets hope the same measures are carried out in other parts too
manikandan.journalist Yes you have nailed it. People should stop encroaching on pavements and Govt, should continue their drive against encroachments to ensure pavements are for pedestrians
In fact footpaths , parks are planned. by susmat51
A lot of public awareness has to be created. by susmat51
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I think the last time Cooum was cleaned 'naturally' during tsunami. by Harthi
lakshmi.immanuel a few years later, during heavy rains, PWD flushed the river using surplus water from Poondi reservoir
manikandan.journalist Well partially so, but the Buckingham Canal too acted as a buffer in absorbing the shock of Tsunami. Every year, Cooum and Adyar rivers get flushed out during monsoon
Yes. Nature takes care it's people, and once in a wile it cleans the river by flood. by Raman Viswanathan
One time God made natural flood selfie cleaning,,,, Second time man made money flood cleaning... by Srinisundar
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Usually, Solid Waste Management by local bodies are in paper only. They are not properly managed. It's a wasteful expenditure.
In the name of cleaning, they are drain-out the Treasury. by Raman Viswanathan
lakshmi.immanuel this time they seem to be a bit serious going by the number of sewage treatment plants being created. Lets hope to see some results in the next few years
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Encroachments are heavy only in certain regions, for example above Anna Nagar and near GH. Below Anna Nagar not much. There is a tidal rise 0f nearly 1 m. This can be advantageously to improve the river from the estuary to upto Nungambakkam Railway Bridge. There was ab attempt in late sixties which can be taken up again. by mkaarmegam
manikandan.journalist Thanks so much for the excellent observation sir!
Encroachments in Chindadripet are heavy too. by susmat51
Yes Sir. In my understanding it is a very complicated socio political problem. Thanks for the opportunity by mkaarmegam
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A clean Cooum Is our desideratum by Chatur Vasi
So any guess as to when we can see a clean Cooum? by Chatur Vasi
It was wonderful interacting and getting a perspective from readers on Cooum. One uniform thread is that everyone wants to see it restored to its original state a few decades ago. People are concerned about increasing pollution, encroachments. They also want it to be made a tourist spot, introduction of boating. A people's movement can surely guide the government towards the objectives. by manikandan.journalist
May be in the next few years, we can see some change with government departments like metrowater already initiating to clean cooum river through sewage treatment plants and better sewer lines .lets hope for the best by lakshmi.immanuel
With that, we come to the end of this live chat. Special thanks to Mr. Karmegam and Ms. Susan for their participation.
Thank You Manikandan and Lakshmi!
Thank you for the interesting chat. by susmat51
We thank the readers for their participation. The live chat is closed now.
Happy Madras Day!
This Madras Week, we will let Cooum be the 'sutradhar'; she will tell the grand story of this city in her own words; of battles fought and love affairs, or politics and mythology, of governance and transporting goods. People of Chennai, as you celebrate this annual throwback event again, this Madras Week, we give you: the Cooum.
Madras Week: Thus Spake Cooum
>Tracing the sacred roots of a river
The 18 century philanthropist Pachaiyappa Mudaliyar would bathe in my waters and then proceed to worship Lord Komaleeswarar.
>Artists' walk documents the many facets of Cooum
A group of artists had captured these facets of the Cooum river as they set out on a journey along the waterway.
>Institutions pitch innovative solutions for cleaning Cooum
A city grew on the banks of the Cooum, but did you know that they have been sites of the clash of civilisations?
>Celebrating Madras Week
Over years, Chennai’s own river, the banks on which Madras arose, 376 years ago next week, has meandered on, stoic in the face of the assaults on it.
>Madras thrived on her banks
A group of history enthusiasts has brought a fresh perspective to the image of the river.
>The scene of great battles
A city grew on the banks of the Cooum, but did you know that they have been sites of the clash of civilisations?
>For them, Cooum is not synonymous with sewer
The Cooum, as strange as it might sound to some, still remains a lifeline to many villages in Tiruvallur district.
>Cooum snippets
In the first-person account that follows, one R. Premsingh writes, “I wish to draw the attention of the Corporation authorities to the stinking smell emitted by the Cooum river.”
>Cooum: Madras' engine of growth
Nearly everything that was and is notable in the city took root along my banks, from the houses of the powerful to the centres of commerce
>Staving off the sewage threat in Cooum
Chennai Metrowater seems to be trying to actualise the big dream of cleaning Cooum river through small steps.
>What's in a name?
A group of history enthusiasts has brought a fresh perspective to the image of the river.
>When crocodiles swam free in Cooum
If you walked by the Cooum about a 100 years ago, you may just have spotted the Cooum crocodile
>Cooum: High tide of artistic expression
From cinemas and bookstores to theatre performances and architectural marvels, I have witnessed this great city reaching new creative heights over many decades.
>Chennai Corporation to play a key role in Cooum makeover
Following a resolution by the Chennai Corporation Council this summer, the civic body is set to do a study on the restoration of heritage landscape along the Cooum river.
>On Islands Grounds and the Cooum
Do you know that Island Grounds owes its name to the Cooum?
>My waters nurtured centres of learning
The Directorate of Public Instruction on my bank laid the foundation for most of the schools and colleges in the city
>The river never found its place in Tamil cinema
The Cooum has always been portrayed as filthy and as a garbage dump yard.
>Crucial decision made: Between Andhra and Tamil Nadu
So valued was the free-flowing Cooum in those days that there was a demand to carve out an Andhra State from the Madras Presidency in the mid and late 1950s.
