Kalam to take part in greenery drive in Coimbatore

Pasumpulari, an year long afforestation drive of Siruthuli to plant and nurture 1,00,000 trees in Coimbatore in line with the International Year of Forests 2011 and 80th birthday of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is in the last lap and will be reaching the milestone on October 15, 2011. 

Mr. Kalam will be with the Pasumpulari, Coimbatore's Green Army, to applaud their green efforts and will be presented with a Pasum Ponnadai.

Ms.Vanitha Mohan – Managing Trustee of Siruthuli said that Pasumpulari began its journey with a heart full of dreams and a handful of saplings. The movement gained strength every month with celebrity guests campaigning for the event. Eight months down the line the movement is all set to turn this region into a fertile greenbelt. Planting commenced with the onset of southwest monsoon and so far 60,000 saplings had been planted in various locations. October 15 will be observed as Green Coimbatore Day and an event will be held at Nandangarai on the foothills of Western Ghats near Irutupallam off Siruvani Road from where Mr.Kalam will convey his green message to the nation. On the occasion, 10,000 saplings will be planted throughout the city involving students and volunteers.

Coimbatore to become a Greener city.

All industrial concerns in Coimbatore and surrounding areas will devote 25 percent of their total occupancy areas to develop green belts. This was decided at a meeting of industrialists and pollution control board officials, organized by Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA) on Friday.

It was also decided to evolve plans to increase green cover in the district by planting large number of trees. The relevant authorities plan to act tough against manufacturers who use plastic carry bags less than 40 microns in thickness.

Pledging to fight against noise pollution, the participants urged all industrial units to implement proper measures to control noise, dust as well as water pollution. The pollution control board will be in constant touch with industrial units to solve issues of pollution. District Environmental Engineer K Kamaraj, who was chief guest at the meeting, said industrial units can apply on-line for services of TNPC Board.

He also sought the cooperation of industrialists in checking pollution effectively. Kamaraj gave a brief outline of pollution control legislations and supportive rules to representatives of the industrial units.
All the district level officials of the board also participated in the meeting and they sought the cooperation of industrial units in tackling the challenges posed by Municipal Solid Waste, Hazardous Wastes and Bio-Medical Wastes.

Industrialists wanted cooperation of the board in ensuring sustainable development without any damage to the environment. They told the board to bring all industrial units in the district under Coimbatore District office of the board. A number of units in the district are under the jurisdiction of Tirupur District Office.

It is no more a metro for Coimbatore, Luckly we will have monorail

The mention in the Governor's address to the state assembly on Friday that the government plans to explore the prospect of building a mono rail in Coimbatore has been welcomed by city residents. Majority of them claimed that the monorail would ease the traffic burden, besides considerably reducing pollution levels in the city.

"It is very heartening to know that the government has addressed our transport problems. Even Mumbai does not have monorail. This is an indication that Coimbatore is being recognised as one of the major cities in the country," said M Krishnan, President, Chamber of Commerce.


With Coimbatore all set to become a major IT hub in the coming years, the vehicle and resident population is expected to increase substantially. However, some residents were concerned that since monorail is a long term project, the government should ensure its completion as per schedule.

"The monorail will help a great deal to ease traffic congestion but then, the project implementation might prove tricky for the government," said R Hariharamoorthy, a city based businessman. A few residents believe that the monorail will help curb accidents. "Surface accidents will be reduced as there will be less vehicles on the roads," said R Kalaiarasu, advocate.

The former DMK government had announced a metro rail project for Coimbatore. Residents have for long demanded that the public transport infrastructure in the city needed to be improved by taking into account the economic potential of the region.

Coimbatore is the urban hub for people of western Tamil Nadu as well as Palakkad district in Kerala. As one of the fastest growing tier-II cities in the country, the city needs better rail connectivity with neighbouring towns, as well as more comfortable travelling options within the city. The attention now shifts from a metro for the city to a mono rail. The point is to build it fast so that the city doesn't get bogged down by a crumbling public transport system.

Man held for dumping waste in lake

Amid rising concern over environmental pollution in Coimbatore, city police have arrested a 20-year-old employee of a restaurant for allegedly dumping garbage in the Valankulam lake in the city.

An employee of a popular restaurant in Gandhipuram, S Thangaraj (20), was caught red-handed as he dumped restaurant garbage into the Valankulam canal on late Friday evening, police said. A police team from Race Course police station who were on patrol duty near the canal picked him up and took him to the station.

"Our police team caught him as he was dumping the waste into the canal," said TH Ganesan, inspector, Race Course police station. Thangaraj was booked under section 277 of the Indian Penal Code for polluting public spring or reservoir and rendering it unfit for public usage.' If convicted, he can be sentenced to a jail term of three months or slapped with a penalty of `500 or both. The accused has now been let off on bail.

Once a clean, shimmering lake and a home to migratory birds, the Valankulam lake has now turned into a dumping site for construction debris, untreated sewage and garbage. Maintenance of eight city lakes including Valankulam was recently handed over to the city corporation by the Public Works Department. The corporation has mooted a `127 crore proposal to privatise the maintenance of the lakes and convert them to tourist spots, triggering objections from environmentalists who insist that wetlands should not be used for entertainment.

Surrounded by greenery and forests, Coimbatore has been witnessing protests from its eco-conscious residents over felling of trees and dumping of waste in wetlands. In a landmark ruling to save greenery in the city, the civil court in its order on February 24 asked a city resident, who had cut down trees in an apartment complex, to pay a fine of Rs 12,000 and plant 40 saplings in the city.