“Nadanthai Vaazhi Cauvery” (Move on, and live long, [Oh] Cauvery). These words of Ilango Adigal in his classic, Silappadikaram, have been coming up repeatedly in public discourse over the centuries.
Nearly 50 years ago, eminent Tamil writer T. Janakiraman (1921-82) and veteran writer-journalist ‘Chitti’ P.G. Sundararajan (1910-2006) teamed up to write a travelogue, Nadanthay Vaazhi Kaveri, recapturing the ancient culture of the region, beginning from the point of origin in Talacauvery, Kodagu, Karnataka, to Poompuhar, the point of confluence with the sea.
On June 15, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who was in New Delhi, referred to the phrase again. He was pitching for a mega project aimed at rejuvenating the Cauvery and used the phrase to title this project, submitted to the Prime Minister. Estimated to cost ₹7,000 crore- ₹10,000 crore, the project has been mooted, drawing inspiration from the Ganga rejuvenation programme of the Central government. Called Namami Gange, the programme of over ₹28,000 crore, benefiting five States in the Ganga basin, is being funded fully by the Centre. Apart from consolidating efforts under old schemes (Ganga Action Plan-I of 1987 and GAP-II of 1993), the central project, approved by the Union Cabinet in May 2015, has two objectives — effective reduction of pollution and conservation-cum-rejuvenation of the Ganga river.