Over 42 days and 41 nights, Coonoor set an example for the rest of India by cleaning up its river
On September 22, the World Rivers Day, Clean Coonoor, a local NGO, started the second phase of the Coonoor River clean-up drive. Coonoor is a small town of around 45,494 people in the Nilgiri mountains in the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India.
The Coonoor River flows out of the town between two hills, Bazaar Hill and Mission Hill. Like other rivers in India, over the years it has become more like a sewer with most of the town’s sewage being dumped into it. Four feeder streams drain into the river at various points.
It has, however, not been always like this. Early European travellers to the Nilgiris have commented on the fresh and sparkling waters of the streams in this hill town. However, the past 60 years have seen the water sources in this hill town being compromised due to a number of reasons: tea plantations, unauthorised buildings, overcrowding and unplanned urban development.
In recent times, Coonoor has been prone to severe water shortage despite the town having access to numerous water sources. The drinking water supply comes from Raliah Dam and the streams, including tributaries of the Coonoor River, in its upper reaches. A survey undertaken by the Kotagiri-based NGO, the Keystone Foundation, states that Coonoor has...
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