Replying to a query by AIADMK member R Sekar Babu, the Minister said the Central government had approved a mega plan for cleaning up Buckingham canal at a cost of Rs.1,447 crore. For the first phase, Rs.633 crore had been sanctioned and the work on desilting the canals in North Chennai areas was already underway. Precautionary measures to prevent flooding during rainy seasons were also being taken.

Apart from this, a plan for repairing waterways in the city had been submitted to the World Bank and the bank had advised the State government to take up the cleaning of Coovum river as a separate project. Following this, a Special Officer has been appointed for preparing the plan for cleaning Coovum.

Stating that a river akin to Coovum was cleaned up in America and a team of experts would visit the place to know the techniques applied there, Durai Murugan said the State government was paying special attention for cleaning Coovum.

over the years

1967

A clean Cooum project at a cost of Rs 118 lakh was launched by the then Chief Minister C N Annadurai

1973

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi launches pleasure boat services

1976

P Sivalingam Committee recommends projects worth Rs 22 crore to improve the waterways of Chennai

1991

Seven Trent, a consultancy firm, was commissioned to look at ways to improve the water courses in the city

1994

A study by Mott MacDonald proposed projects worth Rs 34.8 crore for improving the Cooum

1998

River improvement project launched; Rs 19 crore earmarked for improving the quality of Cooum water

2000

Chennai City River Conservation Project launched with an outlay of Rs 720 crore

2008

World Bank aid to clean the river would be sought, announces the State Govt

History

Cooum River is one of the two rivers running through Chennai, the other being the Adyar River. It originates from a place called Koovam in Tiruvalluvar district

It is one of the shortest river draining into the Bay of Bengal with a length of only 65 km

The name Cooum is derived from Tamil literature from the word coovalan, meaning a person who is proficient in the science of hydrology. However, there are other definitions as well. One of them says the name is derived from the Sanskrit word koopam meaning spring or well Cooum is no longer a fresh water source. It looks like just another big sewerage, collecting surpluses of 75 small tanks in its course.