The Cooum river, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
. This river is about in length, flowing in the
city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly polluted in the urban area (Chennai). Along with the
Adyar River running parallel to the south and the
Kosasthalaiyar River
Kosasthalaiyar River, also known as Kortalaiyar, is one of the three rivers that flow in the Chennai metropolitan area.
The river and its course
Kosasthalaiyar is long and originates near Pallipattu in Thiruvallur district and drains into th ...
, the river trifurcates the city of Chennai and separates Northern Chennai from Central Chennai. It is also sometimes known as Thiruvallikenni river
Its source is in a place by the Kesavaram Anaicut built across
Kallar river
Kallar may refer to:
Places
India
* Kallar, Kanhangad near Kanhangad, Kerala, India
* Kallar, Trivandrum in Trivandrum district in Kerala, India
* Kallar River, a tributary of the Neyyar river in India, flowing through Tamil Nadu and Kerala
...
in
Vellore district
Vellore district () is one of the 38 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. It is one of the eleven districts that form the north region of Tamil Nadu. Vellore city is the headquarters of this district. As of 2011, the district had a popu ...
adjoining
Chennai district
Chennai district, formerly known as Madras district, is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the smallest and the most densely populated district in the state. The district is coterminous with the city of Chennai, w ...
. From its origin in the
Kesavaram village to
Thandurai (
Pattabiram),
Thiruverkadu
Thiruverkadu (; literally 'a forest of holy herbs and roots') is a Western suburb of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It comes under Thiruvallur district administration. It is famous for its Devi Karumariamman Temple. There is also Vedapureeswarar Templ ...
Anaikat, the river remains unpolluted. Beyond this, the river is highly polluted till its mouth in the Bay of Bengal.
In Chennai district, the river flows through three corporation zones—
Kilpauk
Kilpauk is a semi residential area located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The distance from Chennai's city to Kilpauk is about 6 km. The region is situated off the Poonamallee High Road in the west. Adjacent areas of Kilpauk include Chetp ...
,
Nungambakkam
Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multi-national commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, to ...
and
Triplicane
Triplicane, known in the vernacular as Thiruvallikeni, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres ...
—for a total length of .
Owing to intensive use of surface water upstream for agriculture, indiscriminate pumping of groundwater leading to reduced base flow in the river, formation of sand bar at the mouth of the river, discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents and encroachment along the banks, the river, especially the downstream, has been highly polluted.
In 2018 alone, about 21,665 tonnes of waste was removed from the river.
History
The Cooum was earlier known as the Triplicane river. The name of ''Cooum'' appears to be derived from Tamil literature. The name may have been derived from the Tamil term ''coopam'' meaning 'well' or 'deep pit'.
The word ''coovalan'' denotes a person who is well versed in the science of ground water, well water and stagnant water.
Once this river was said to have its origin in
Dharmapuri district
Dharmapuri is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil-Nadu, India. It is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitting it from then-Salem district on 2 October 1965. Dharmapuri District is one of t ...
, but now due to some earth table changes, it has shortened its course to
Thiruvallur district. Ancient documents from the nearby temples states about one 'reaching salvation' on having a dip in the Cooum. The Cooum river was then clean and unpolluted.
For centuries, Cooum has been an integral part of the socio-economic and cultural life of the city. Till the early twentieth century, it was a clean river, most suitable for navigation. In ancient times, it played a pivotal part in the far-flung maritime trade between the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
,
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. Cooum's proximity to the ancient port of Manarpha or
Mylapore
Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...
added to the river's strategic importance. Manarpha was frequented by Roman merchants who came here to buy Indian textiles, gemstones and spices. In return, India procured gold, silver, copper and high-quality wine from the Romans. Archaeologists have discovered ancient Roman wine jars, and Roman and Chinese coins, on the banks of the river. In the late eighteenth century,
Pachaiyappa Mudaliar
Vallal Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754–1794) or Arcot Pachayyappa Mudaliar was a Madras merchant, philanthropist, and dubash of the 18th century.
Commemorative stamp on Vallal Pachaiyappa was released 31 March 2010.
Early life
Vallal Pachaiy ...
, the renowned philanthropist, bathed in this river before offering prayers at the Komaleeswarar Temple in Komaleeswaranpet.
Cooum River and the nearby Elambore River (or North River), which flows into the Cooum at its mouth, were running very close to each other near the former
Central Jail
Prisons, and their administration, is a state subject covered by item 4 under the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The management and administration of prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the State governmen ...
area opposite
Chennai Central
Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...
. During floods, both the watercourses inundated the whole area. In the 1700s, the two rivers were linked by a cut to equalise the floods in both the rivers and a bridge was constructed between these rivers in 1710 across the cut.
Polluted part of the Cooum is presently spoiled by filth and pollution, and the water quality has considered to be highly toxic and completely non-potable. The 2004 tsunami cleaned the mouth of the river; however, the river returned to its usual polluted self within a short period. Nevertheless, the river is still being used for drinking water needs of many villages in the banks of the unpolluted part of the river.
Origin and course
![Cooum Delta with sand dunes and tidal barrier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Cooum_Delta_with_sand_dunes_and_tidal_barrier.jpg)
The Cooum River originates in a village of the same name in
Kadambathur
Kadambathur, also spelt Kadambattur, is a town located in Tiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a census town in Tiruvallur taluk. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 11,235.
Districts
Kadambat ...
union in Tiruvallur district, about from Chennai, although starting its main course at Sattarai village, around from Chennai. Flowing through
Thiruverkadu
Thiruverkadu (; literally 'a forest of holy herbs and roots') is a Western suburb of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It comes under Thiruvallur district administration. It is famous for its Devi Karumariamman Temple. There is also Vedapureeswarar Templ ...
, it enters the
Chennai District
Chennai district, formerly known as Madras district, is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the smallest and the most densely populated district in the state. The district is coterminous with the city of Chennai, w ...
at
Arumbakkam
Arumbakkam is a residential locality in Chennai.
The locality
Arumbakkam is notable for D G Vaishnav College. The Chennai Bottling Company (popularly known as the Gold Spot Company) was located here, which has now been converted into a car d ...
after meandering for about . It then passes through some of the oldest residential areas for another such as
Choolaimedu
Choolaimedu is a large residential and commercial locality in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. It borders Kodambakkam, Vadapalani, M.M.D.A. Colony, Aminjikarai, Mahalingapuram and Nungambakkam. Previously a part of Puliyur village, Kodambakkam, Choo ...
,
Chetpet
Chetput is a major town and a municipality in Tiruvannamalai district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Chetput's major economical activity is processing paddy and the town is home to one of the largest organised paddy exchange market of the s ...
,
Egmore
Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Madr ...
and
Chintadripet
Chintadripet ('originally Chinna Thari Pettai) is a locality in Chennai, in India. Located on the southern banks of the Cooum River, it is a residential-cum-commercial area surrounded by Chepauk, Island Grounds, Pudupet, Egmore and Anna Salai ...
, where the river channel is about wide. Close to Egmore, the river forks into two—the northern and the southern arms—both of which join again near the
Napier bridge
Napier Bridge is a bridge in Chennai, India, built over the Coovum River, connecting Fort St. George with the Marina beach. It is also one of the historic structures and landmark of the city.
History
One of the city's oldest bridges, it was ...
, thus forming an island, known as the Island Grounds. The northern part of the
Buckingham Canal
The Buckingham Canal is a -long fresh water navigation canal, that parallels the Coromandel Coast of South India from Kakinada City in the Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh to Viluppuram District in Tamil Nadu. The canal connects most ...
joins the Cooum near the old Central Jail while the southern part of the same canal emerges from the river, just behind the
University of Madras
The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...
campus. The river finally joins the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
south of the
Fort St George
Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further s ...
, just below the Napier Bridge.
Once a fresh water source, it is today a drainage course inside the city of Chennai. The total length of the river is about . The river flows to a length of in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, of which fall within the Chennai district limits. The total catchment area of the river is about , and the bed width ranges from . The capacity of the river is , and the anticipated flood discharge is around .
Once a fishing river, it has borne the brunt of the city's unplanned developmental explosion. The Kesavaram dam diverts the river into the
Chembarambakkam Lake
Chembarambakkam lake is a lake located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, about 25 km from Chennai. It is one of the two rain-fed reservoirs from where water is drawn for supply to Chennai City, the other one being the Puzhal Lake. The Adyar ...
from which water is used for the supply of drinking water to the city of Chennai. Thereafter, the flow of water in the river is much reduced.
Three ancient
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
temples are located at the source of the river. The first is
Tiruvirkolam
Tiruvirkolam (also Thiruvirkolam or Koovam or Coovum or Cooum) is an ancient temple town on the banks of the Koovam River in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located about 70 km from Chennai. The water, though sparkling clear over here, becomes po ...
, in Cooum village, and the other is at Ilambaiyankottur. The third is Thiruverkadu Shiva temple. Koyambedu temple is also in its banks. These temples have been featured in the
Thevaram
Thevaram is a town in Theni district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thevaram is located in Tamil Nadu near on border of Kerala at the Eastern side foot-hill of the Western Ghats. It is connected with State Highway SH100.
Farming is main o ...
sung by the
Saivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
saint
Thirugnana Sambandar
Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...
. There is one more temple called the Veerebathrasami temple. The god in the temple is otherwise known as "Akoramoorthy". This temple is at Pillayarkuppam, from Cooum village. In ancient Tamil Nadu, under the Chola Empire, the river Cooum was referred to as ''Kashtabudhyotpathihi''. They all form a group of villages called ''Padhinaru Nattham''. The river drains into the Bay of Bengal at
Chepauk
Chepauk is a locality in Chennai, India. The name Chepauk is popularly used to refer to the M. A. Chidambaram International Cricket Stadium, also known as the Chepauk Stadium. It is also home to the Chepauk Palace, built in the Indo-Saracenic ...
in Chennai marking the northernmost boundary of the
Marina Beach. The delta also marks the southern boundary of the
Port of Chennai
Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is the second largest container port of India, behind Mumbai's Nhava Sheva. The port is the largest one in the Bay of Bengal. It is the third-oldest port among the 13 major ports of India with offic ...
.
![01Chennai&Chepauk&NearNapierBridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/01Chennai%26Chepauk%26NearNapierBridge.jpg)
The width of the river course varies all along from , which includes the area occupied by the slums.
Islets and the river mouth
![Island Grounds - Chennai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Island_Grounds_-_Chennai.JPG)
The major islet in the course of the river is the
Island Grounds in Chennai less than a kilometre from the mouth. The river splits into two near Chinthadripet and encircles a piece of land isolating it from the surrounding land before draining into the eastern sea. However, the mouth of the river is not too wide and does not have any islet. The river mouth has groynes running to a total length of nearly . The opening between the groynes is about to facilitate tidal action. The impact of high tide bringing in sea water is felt for nearly in the river. At present, the river has to be periodically cleaned to prevent sand deposits near the river mouth, close to the Napier bridge, which are removed at frequent intervals using at least two machines to facilitate tidal action and avoid flooding. About of sand were removed in 2010–11.
The river basin spans an area of 505.88 square kilometers.
Bridges
![Periyar Bridge Chennai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Periyar_Bridge_Chennai.jpg)
There are nine major bridges built over the urban part of the river. These are the Napier Bridge, the Wallajah Bridge, the Periamet Bridge, the Chintradripet Bridge or the St Andrew's Bridge, Harris Bridge, Commander-in-Chief Road Bridge, College Road Bridge, Spur Tank Bridge and the Aminjikarai Bridge.
Apart from these there are several smaller bridges built across the river. The Corporation of Chennai maintains about 13 of these bridges.
A new bridge across the river connecting Golden George Nagar in
Mogappair
Mogappair (also known as Dr. J. J. Nagar) is a residential neighborhood in north-western Chennai, India. It is located west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Road (Inner Ring Road) and is part of the Ambattur zone (7) of the Greater Chennai Corporation ...
with
Nerkundram
Nerkundram or Nerkunram is a census town located in Chennai City, Chennai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It falls under Maduravoyal (State Assembly Constituency) constituency in Tiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil N ...
is being constructed by the state highways department at a cost of 113 million. Work started in August 2010 and is expected to be completed by March 2013. The bridge with 10 spans measures about long and nearly wide, accommodating six-lane traffic, with space provisions for bicycles and pedestrians.
Flora and fauna
According to scientists, around 1950, Cooum had 49 species of fish,
and by the late 1970s, this was reduced to 21 species.
However, on date, there are no fish in the river, owing to highly toxic pollutants found in the river water.
Pollution
![Cooum River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Cooum_River.jpg)
The river is narrow, placid, slow and meandering. The river is primarily fed by discharge from tank and water bodies and has seen a steady drop in freshwater over the years, a primary reason for its present-day condition.
However, the core problem of the Cooum has been that due to the sand bar, the river mouth near the Napier Bridge gets blocked for most of the time, preventing the river water from draining into the sea. This has, eventually, made the river, in its 18-km-long stretch in the central district, a stinking cesspool.
Tests of water samples reveals almost zero dissolved
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
and substantial presence of
faecal coliform bacteria, besides heavy metals such as
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
,
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and
cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...
.
The study of the river was undertaken as part of a
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
-funded project and shows that it is 80 percent more polluted than treated sewer. Fish were able to survive in the water for only 3 to 5 hours even after samples were diluted. There are traces of heavy metals like copper and pesticides like
endosulphan
Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased out globally. It became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor. ...
and
lindane
Lindane, also known as ''gamma''-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH), gammaxene, Gammallin and benzene hexachloride (BHC), is an organochlorine chemical and an isomer of hexachlorocyclohexane that has been used both as an agricultural insecticide and ...
in it. Public Works Department sources said government agencies like
Chennai Corporation
The Greater Chennai Corporation, formerly known as the Corporation of Madras (1688-1996) and Corporation of Chennai (1996-2016), is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of T ...
and business units and retail outlets on the banks of the river were responsible for the pollution. The water has almost no dissolved oxygen, and instead there are traces of heavy metals like copper, besides sewage and sludge. Due to its narrowness and about 3,500 illegal hutments along its banks, it has not been recently
desilted, which has closed it to river traffic. Per 2003 enumeration, about 9,000 families live along the river, in addition to 450 shops and commercial buildings.
There are 700-odd points in the river bank where sewage flows straight into the river.
There are 127 identified sewage outfalls into the river, out of which 85 are in use.
Nearly 30 per cent of the estimated of untreated sewage being let into the waterways of Chennai daily, including by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, gets into the Cooum river. About 60 per cent of the untreated sewage gets into the
Buckingham Canal
The Buckingham Canal is a -long fresh water navigation canal, that parallels the Coromandel Coast of South India from Kakinada City in the Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh to Viluppuram District in Tamil Nadu. The canal connects most ...
and the
Adyar River takes the rest. In 2010, about 340 sewage outfalls into the waterways were identified. Of them, more than 130 sewage outfalls were in the Cooum River and a majority of them were between Aminjikarai and Nungambakkam.
In some of the spots in areas such as
Maduravoyal
Maduravoyal is a residential neighbourhood located in the west of Chennai, India. As of 2011, the town had a population of 86,195.
Maduravoyal also has a name as "ettam kal" (8th mile), so it could be famous in British Period too, it is exac ...
, more than 7 tonnes of
municipal solid waste
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, ...
is being dumped in the river every day.
Fortunately, there is another 42 km of this river which is still not polluted (as of the year 2015), which can be used to transport the water into Chennai and to store drinking water for Chennai's needs. There is huge amount of sand deposits in the banks of the unpolluted part of the cooum river that could rejuvenate the ground water level of numerous villages in the banks of this river.
Cleanup
According to the records available with the state public department, efforts to restore the waterway first began back in 1872 under the British. The earliest recorded proposal was mooted in 1890. After Independence, the then chief minister C. N. Annadurai launched a Cooum Improvement Scheme at a cost of 19 million in September 1967, six months after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party came to power for the first time in the state, when M. Karunanidhi was PWD minister. The project comprised installation of a regulator and a sand pump at the river mouth, protecting the sides of the river with cement concrete slabs from the Chetput bridge to the Napier Bridge, provision of a walkway on either side of the river, removal of encroachments on the banks of the river and, more importantly, the diversion of sewage. In addition, seven boat jetties were built. In February 1973, when Karunanidhi was chief minister, he launched a pleasure boat service at a cost of 22 million, and roving boats, powered boats and paddle boats were made available at a nominal charge. However, the efforts went futile when the sand pump developed snags.
Incidentally, the jetties built for the purpose still dot the riverfront.
In 1996, when the DMK returned to power, the government made another bid—this time covering all important watercourses, including the Buckingham Canal and the Adyar. This resulted in the implementation of the 12,000-million Chennai City River Conservation Project (CCRCP) in January 2001, which was substantially supported by the Union Environment and Forests Ministry. This time, the new project aimed at arresting the sewage outfalls and strengthening the sewer network. However, this too did not yield the desired results since the project did not cover Tiruvallur district, which accounts for of the river stretch.
After the DMK took charge again in May 2006, the eco-restoration of the Cooum again came to the fore. To facilitate the implementation of the project, the Chennai River Authority, headed by the Deputy Chief Minister, was formed in December 2009 to clean up the entire stretch of the river within 10 years.
This aimed at coordinating the implementation of various projects.
In 2010, the Tamil Nadu government signed an MoU with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SEC), a Singapore agency for the restoration project. The agency prepared a preliminary report after discussions with various stake holders of the project including Chennai Corporation, municipal administrations, Metrowater, Pollution Control Board, Slum Clearance Board and the public works department.
There is currently the World Bank–funded Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Bodies Restoration and Management Project to clean up the river, under which the upper reaches of the river are proposed to be covered.
The World Bank has approved 224.1 million for the Cooum restoration project towards development of its irrigation potential. Improving the irrigation efficiency of Cooum upstream is one of the main objectives of the project. The upper region of the river, mainly Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur districts, will be benefiting from this special fund.
A team from Chennai has visited
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
to see how they successfully did the clean-up of a polluted river. The team comprised former Deputy Chief Minister
M. K. Stalin
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin ( , born 1 March 1953), often referred to by his initials MKS, is an Indian Tamil politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin ...
, former Chennai Mayor
M. Subramaniam and other senior officers. One of the city's dream projects is to clean up this river on or before 2020. The initiative has been taken up by the Central and State governments to clean up the river and rediscover the pleasures of traditional boat racing. The Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) has asked the Chennai Corporation to chalk out an action plan to remove
construction debris
Construction waste or debris is any kind of debris from the construction process. Different government agencies have clear definitions. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines construction and demolition materia ...
dumped on the banks of the river.
The Water Resources Department (WRD) started flushing a stretch of the Cooum in December 2010, initially discharging about of surplus water from the
Poondi reservoir
Poondi Reservoir or Sathyamoorthy reservoir is the reservoir across Kotralai River in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu State. It acts as the important water source for Chennai city which is 60 km away.
History
Poondi Reservoir (later ...
into the river.
In September 2011, the WRD began cleaning the river at a cost of 10.2 million and the work is expected to be completed within a fortnight.
In 2012, the government allotted 3,000 million towards construction of 337 sewage cleaning systems in the waterways in the city, including 105 locations in the Cooum river. Others include 49 points in Adyar river and 183 locations in the Buckingham Canal.
Other developments
![Coast Guard building on the banks of Cooum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Coast_Guard_building_on_the_banks_of_Cooum.jpg)
A visitor centre near the mouth of the river on the
Marina Beach, similar to the
Marina Barrage
Marina Barrage is a dam in southern Singapore built at the confluence of five rivers, across the Marina Channel between Marina East and Marina South.
First conceptualised in 1987 by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew to help achieve greater self-s ...
Visitor Centre in Singapore and
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
Visitor Center in the United States, has been planned as part of an initiative to create awareness of the need for clean waterways.
In 2011, the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association planned to build a marina at the mouth of the Cooum river along the southern bank, where yachts and pleasure boats could dock. The 300-million project involves first building a breakwater in the sea so that the waters at the marina are placid and the boats do not keep bobbing up and down with the incursion of waves. However, the by-catch is a more important function—the breakwater will prevent silting and clogging of the mouthect, such as a boat repair facility, a base for the Tamil Nadu Coastal Police, and sailing academy, will be put up on the bank. By 2013, the estimate for the setting up of a sailing centre and marina to accommodate 24 yachts has increased to 450 million.
A nature trail along the river has been proposed for which a draft ecological plan has been prepared by the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure and Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL). The project is planned from College Road bridge to Chetpet bridge by the Chennai River Restoration Trust in view of the biological diversity of the area which was undisturbed for decades. According to the draft ecological plan, floral species such as
Indian almond,
black wattle
Black wattle is the common name for a number of species of trees that are native to Australia, as listed below:
*''Acacia aulacocarpa''
*''Acacia auriculiformis'', also known as Darwin Black Wattle or northern black wattle;
*''Acacia concurrens ...
,
sacred fig
''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree, ...
,
madras thorn
''Pithecellobium dulce'', commonly known as Manila tamarind, Madras thorn, monkeypod tree or camachile, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Pacific Coast and adjacent highlands of Mexico, Central A ...
,
Indian mulberry,
neem
''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...
,
banyan
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...
, ''magizham'',
Indian cork tree, ''punnai'', ''sirukkambil'', ''karumugai'', ''shenbagam'',
bayur tree, ''kadamba'', ''pavazha malli'',
vetiver
''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae.
Vetiver is most closely related to '' Sorghum'' but shares many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such a ...
grass,
palmarosa
''Cymbopogon martinii'' is a species of grass in the genus ''Cymbopogon'' (lemongrasses) native to India and Indochina, but widely cultivated in many places for its aromatic oil. It is best known by the common name palmarosa (''palm rose'') as it ...
,
agave
''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...
,
lemon grass
''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family.
Some s ...
and
subabul
''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia.
Common names include jumbay, ...
would be part of species along the nature trail which would play a role in erosion management. The nature trail would be based on an "elevated boardwalk" model with "uncompressed natural wood" and "fibre reinforced plastic". The entry and exit would be on College Road near the DPI complex. Apart from the parking facilities on the DPI premises, a stretch along the road between the entry point and the College Road Bridge would be demarcated for additional parking. Five points located at intervals along the trail have been selected for erecting break-out areas including one for a canopy walk. The facility has been planned without electrical fittings and has been designed as a "day trail".
It is proposed that
Chennai Metro rails are to be built about under the bed of the river. The line that comes from the
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...
area reaches the metro's
Central station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
in front of
Ripon Building
The Ripon Building is the seat and headquarters of the Greater Chennai Corporation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is an example of neoclassical architecture, a combination of Ionic and Corinthian styles. The Ripon Building is an all-white structur ...
, crosses the river and passes underneath the neighbourhoods of
Chintadripet
Chintadripet ('originally Chinna Thari Pettai) is a locality in Chennai, in India. Located on the southern banks of the Cooum River, it is a residential-cum-commercial area surrounded by Chepauk, Island Grounds, Pudupet, Egmore and Anna Salai ...
to reach the underground station at the new
secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...
on
Anna Salai
Anna Salai (), formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towards St. Thomas Mount, and end ...
. The tunnels for the metro rail are to be made without cutting open the ground, with giant machines boring the tunnels as the river flows above. Custom-made tunnel boring machines costing 600 million each have been imported from Germany for the purpose.
Eco restoration and nature trail
Key aspects of the Cooum river eco-restoration plan includes 11 maintenance ways of 9.6 km, 22 walkways of 24 km, and 17 cycle tracks of 19 km, in addition to 24 parks and riverfront vegetation. The total budget for the eco-restoration is 19,340 million.
As part of the eco-restoration, in July 2018, the corporation began work on the 1.5-km nature trail between the College Road bridge in Nungambakkam and the Munroe bridge in Chetput. Modelled on the San Antonio River Walk in the United States, the trail is being built in two phases at a cost of 98.2 million and includes a butterfly park in a 5000 square meter area. Given the raise in the maximum flood level in the past years being 70% to 5.94 meters, the boardwalk has been increased from 3.5 meters to more than 6 meters using corrosion-resistant steel. The boardwalk will measure 1.65 meters and will be covered with greenery, with a provision to park 70 vehicles. The butterfly park will be built in the second phase.
Occasional water flows
During the
Indian Ocean tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
of 2004, the empty waterway enabled it to take in much of the incoming ocean water. Some say this would not have been possible had the river been in full flow.
In November 2005,
three days of torrential rains flushed out the waste and cleaned up the river, and the river looked clear for a brief period. Egrets and cormorants too were cited flocking the river to feast on fish.
The river discharged the floodwater at a rate of about .
Legacy
A 1928 poem by V. H. Shipley describes the river as follows:
Of dirt and smell your sources wake... And near the sea where one would think Your water might be cleaner, It forms a cesspit by the bridge, Adjoining the Marina. Oh viscid stream! Oh smelling flood. Oh green and beastly river!
See also
*
Adyar river
*
Kosasthalaiyar river
Kosasthalaiyar River, also known as Kortalaiyar, is one of the three rivers that flow in the Chennai metropolitan area.
The river and its course
Kosasthalaiyar is long and originates near Pallipattu in Thiruvallur district and drains into th ...
*
Water management in Chennai
The coastal city of Chennai has a metropolitan population of 10.6 million as per 2019 census. As the city lacks a perennial water source, catering the water requirements of the population has remained an arduous task. On 18 June 2019, the city's r ...
References
External links
District Profile – RiversCooum River PollutionHistory of Cooum River*
{{Authority control
Geography of Chennai
Rivers of Tamil Nadu
Rivers of India