From 1890 to today: Cooum’s battle with filth continues

CHENNAI: The mission to clean the Cooum began in 1890 and it is continuing even today, said founder of the Madras Local History Group Venketesh Ramakrishnan. The historian and novelist was among the speakers for the panel discussion on ‘Cooum: A dead river or a lifeline’. He was joined by Arun Krishnamurthy of the Environment Foundation of India, and D P Mathuria, executive director, National Mission for Clean Ganga.
The speakers highlighted the decline of one of the city’s most famous rivers (the other two being Adyar and Kosasthalaiyar, and always confused for the Cooum) and what can be done to restore them.
Venketesh took the audience down memory lane and dwelt on the history of the Cooum highlighting points like the existence of a Cooum crocodile, which clearly showed that the river was at one time alive and supported aquatic life. He also mentioned how after the floods of 2015, the river remained “clean” for three days with people fishing and bathing in it.
Arun spoke of how in order to revive a river, one needs to make it “useful again”. “The only way people will come together to save a water body is if they see use in it. We have to answer that first. Are we restoring the river for navigation, just for beautification, for ecological reasons or economic reasons,” added Arun.