In an effort to reconnect the city’s residents with the Adyar river that is facing degradation, Reciprocity Foundation, a voluntary organisation, is starting a three-and-a-half-month-long campaign from Sunday.
“Save the Adyar River Today” — the campaign, coinciding with World Rivers Day — aims at bringing together people from various walks of life residing along the Adyar’s banks, to rejuvenate the waterway.
The movement seeks to create awareness about the river’s significance and motivate people to take up responsibility for its clean-up. It will focus on the stretch between the estuary and the Kotturpuram bridge.
The waterway has now been reduced to a dumping space for garbage and sewage.
For a city to thrive, it is not just enough for the government to implement projects, said Sheila Sri Prakash, urban designer and founder of the organisation. “People need to take part in reviving the waterways and empathise with them. This will help schemes to proceed faster,” she noted.
The programmes of the campaign, lined up between September 30 and January 15, will be kickstarted with a concert by Bombay Jayashri Ramnath and a river clean-up programme near the Gandhi Nagar cricket ground on Sunday, at 6 a.m. The Hindu is the media partner for the events.
Involving stakeholders
It will involve the stakeholders located along the river bank, from educational institutions and housing colonies to hospitals and clubs.
“The idea is to start from within, to tackle the issues and develop a vibrant waterfront. This campaign will help build solidarity among people for the cause,” she said.
Besides clean-up activities at vulnerable locations of the river, marathons and cyclethons will be held on designated trails during weekends.
Music composers too will have a chance to showcase their talent, by composing ‘An anthem for the river’. The winners will be announced at the valedictory function.