Restoring water bodies

Siruthuli is a people’s initiative towards restoring River Noyyal and its allied water bodies in Coimbatore, Erode and Karur Districts. About four million people depend on River Noyyal for irrigation, industrial use and domestic ground water. Coimbatore and its adjoining areas can be aptly called the gift of the Noyyal. Over the last four years Siruthuli has restored eight urban water tanks, two channels that feed the Noyyal river and has also started the plans to restore the river. The restoration includes watershed management for thousands of farmers, sewage water treatment plants in all the villages, and the city of Coimbatore, practical solid waste management programs throughout the river basin, and planting of riparian forests on the either sides of the river and its 34 channels.

The cost of this ambitious first-ever eco-initiative in recent history is running into crores of rupees. Siruthuli is in the process of raising resources from Corporates, public, social service institutions, government, multilateral aid agencies, non-resident Indians and through fund raising programmes. One such event was the three-day food festival-Siruthuli Virundhu-organised in July with participation from the public and various organisations.

Water and food is revered as divine manifestations that have come to sustain humanity. The food festival reiterated this relationship between food and water and awakened a sense of responsibility and belonging to the Kongunad region in the minds of the citizens of Coimbatore, even as the festival garnered funds for the river restoration work.

The mega food expo had food courts, grand promotion stalls for people in all sectors of food and home appliance industry. There were live cookery demonstrations by culinary experts like Tarla Dalal and Mallika Badrinath, cookery contests for homemakers and students of Food and Catering Management, eating contest, food quiz, celebrity programs, special food festivals, lively debates, etc. Minister of Rural Industries Pongalur Palaniswami inaugurated the festival on July 27.

The three days were appropriately named Cauvery, Gangothri and Noyyal and each day’s cuisine created the atmosphere of that region by way of food and music. Apart from the food and exhibition stalls, it had some unique features too. Even as the people enjoyed the food in the stalls they were shown the importance of effective composting of biodegradable waste, including the leftover food. Daily Dump is a company in Bangalore, designing and selling products and services that manage home waste. They have created a unique set of terracotta compositors that can be used at home and in apartments and effectively manage the waste generated on a daily basis. The products were displayed at the Siruthuli stall and if the message was conveyed to the scores of curious onlookers, then composting biodegradable waste at home will hopefully become a reality and waste management may cease to be a problem!

With The Hindu and the local daily Dinamalar as media partners and Ambal Auto, SKM Foods and Suguna Poultry Farms as sponsors to prop the festival, there was no dearth of helping hands for Siruthuli. Roots Multiclean Ltd took on the onerous task of cleaning up and maintaining the premises during the three-day festivities because in spite of the best efforts, consumers had no qualms about littering the place! While Godrej sponsored Tarla Dalal’s cookery show Coimbatore Roller Flour Mills sponsored the free Insta Magic Noodles for the visitors, thus proving that Siruthuli had earned the support of the people of Coimbatore for undertaking the stupendous task of rejuvenating a river.