Helping her out are environmental organizations, academic institutions, washermen and farming groups, activists, government and district administration representatives and corporation councillors, corporate bodies and industrialists, cultural institutions, artists, performers and the common man of Madurai. Prior to Chithirai Festival in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, South India. He is also holding various positions in national and international forums, working groups, task forces and missions of Central and State governments on these themes. The organisers say that unlike other rivers, Vaigai is polluted only by the people inhabiting its banks and all steps are being taken to educate the people living along the banks. Madurai, situated on the banks of the Vaigai River, in Tamil Nadu, Southern India is known as the Temple City of India. Holding discarded plastic bottles in her dozen fake hands, Amudha, a school-goer strutted down the northern bank of Vaigai, donning the Trash Protectress. Prakash who has made a set of big and small 3D models of fish out of plastic cans and bamboo sticks, says, “It’s gratifying to see the result of the show. The partners have made a commitment of at least five years to this project and effort. Geeta is the past President of the American Institute of Architects’ Japan Chapter. They are scheduled to hold their first meeting in early August. Under the project, two check dams have been built across the river near A.V. Vaigai River Restoration Project (2013-Current) Vaigai River Restoration Project. River Vaigai Edges. The magnificence of Madurai as a cultural center since the Tamil Era 2,500 years ago, as well as the beauty of the Vaigai River that runs through it, has been celebrated for thousands of years in Indian literature and sacred texts. The cultural pageant may be a token action, but DHAN as the catalyst wants to drill the message of involvement and responsibility into all stakeholders. She has a BA in Art History from Skidmore College, 1987, and a MA degree in Performance Studies from New York University, 1994. Samy Project Hub has been established as a project company in Madurai 2014. The Hudson River Park Trust Professor Geeta Mehta Founder, Director of Asia Initiatives continued her engagement with her Department of Architecture and Urban Design at Columbia University joining and building an exchange program bringing students and professors to collaborate with students from the Thiagarajar College in Madurai on designs ideas for the waterfront and river restoration effort. Community partners include: DHAN Foundation, Tata/DHAN Academy, Thiagarajar College of Engineering and Architecture, Fatima College, Lady Doak College, Vivekananda College, American College, Sri Meenakshi Government College for Women, Gandhi Museum, Women’s Empowerment Groups with DHAN Foundation, Madurai Corporation (Deputy Director, S. Shanti), City Officials (Mayor, Rajan Chellappa, Collector I. Subramanium), Rotary Club Madurai, Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple,  Sundararaja Perumal Temple and Vandiyur MariammanTemple, Chairpersons of four corporation zones,  Superintending Engineers of TWAD Board and Tamil Nadu Housing Board District Forest Officer and District Revenue Officer and diverse stakeholders of Madurai. Godavari River. • Work with artists-in-residence to create spectacular visual arts works such as mobile sculptures/puppets and costumes for the procession inspired by the species, habitats, issues, and restoration efforts of the river. • Costumes will utilize folk traditions and incorporate hand loom textiles and Sungudi fabrics, a traditional craft of Madurai. Founder/Executive Director. “I engaged people from diverse communities to work together creatively for a common goal,” she says. Big Bass Puppet by artist-in-residence Lucrecia Novoa in Earth Celebrations’ Hudson River Pageant, New York City. It provides water for irrigation Kaveri Vai http://www.dhan.org, Asia Initiatives He has specialized in community organization, designing development interventions in the fields of natural resource management, livelihood promotion and institutional development.  S Mahendran, a resident, who is also the manager of the Agriculture Technology Management Association, Mayor V.V. Bamboo expert Prakash bends and tweaks the sticks to design fishes like Maharam, Machameen, Viraal and the Vellichi, now extinct but once found in abundance in the river. • Industrial and chemical pollutants flowing into the river. • Building environmental awareness and community engagement in river restoration efforts. As Field Director at CM Centre, Sekar organizes every resource necessary to provide for the needs of scholars and students, ranging from setting up meetings with government agencies, NGOs, individuals, private institutions or business houses to interviewing a village shaman. 1. Meanwhile, the Vaigai River Restoration Pageant has planned to recover the grand waterway by restoring its historic value. Later on, we full-fledged entered into the field of preparation of a thesis in supporting Research scholars all over India. Dr. S. Banumathy. Madurai launches bridge project on Vaigai river The new bridge will come up at a cost of ₹27.5 crore with ₹23 crore being contributed through the Infrastructure and Amenities Fund, while the remaining ₹4.5 crore will be pitched in by the corporation. 1 Name of the project Cauvery (Kattalai) - Vaigai - Gundar link project 2 Type of project (Irrigation or Multipurpose) Multipurpose 3 Location Central coastal region of Tamil Nadu 3.1 River basin a) Name Cauvery basin, Streams between Cauvery and Vaippar b) Location Tamil Nadu 3.2 River / tributary Cauvery and Gundar rivers The Vaigai River Restoration Project hopes to make the river the grand waterway it was at one time. Feasibility Report of Cauvery Vaigai Gundar Link Project. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia. This River-Linking project is a large-scale civil engineering project. He has traveled extensively within and outside India and has presented papers on these themes. Felicia has also been interacting with settlers along the river bank and empowering them with the knowledge of cleaning of the river and betterment of the environment. 3. Earth Celebrations Except for the heritage development project, the remaining four projects are more than 90 percent complete. – Mayor V.V. The artistic works were featured in the culminating spectacular Vaigai River Restoration Pageant on May 12, 2015. • Educational performances by local performing and community groups address: legacy of Vaigai River in mythological and historic texts; native river species and habitats; issues of waste and sewage dumping; industrial and chemical pollution; and restoration efforts to improve water quality, water flow, and health of the river. Our main aim is to extend project services at low cost. He was instrumental in promoting various network organizations. All Rights Reserved. An initiative was also being taken to plant trees along the Vaigai to add beauty to its existence. In 2018 Madurai was identified by the Smart Cities Council of India to receive 1 billion rupees for the Vaigai River Restoration implementation. Batches of women will be drawing kolam at the culminating point of the procession near the temple well. The Vaigai river in Madurai continues to overflow on the third day as well and has disrupted normalcy in the city. In the last 20 years, Felicia has, through advocacy projects and theatrical pageants, effected preservation of the community gardens in New York city, addressed climate change and restored the species and habitats of the once polluted Hudson river. Image Sources Starting from Top: K K Sundar; Through the Xpress Lens, Continents Insolites, S. James, The Hindu, Oochappan, TrekEarth, INFORMATION ON VAIGAI RIVER POLLUTION AND CLEAN-UP EFFORT, Vaigai Social Awareness Short Film by Kalai Selvan, Corporation to Patrol River Bank to Stop Dumping of Waste, Corporation Invites Public for Cleaning Vaigai, Felicia Young is a theatrical pageant director and founder of Earth Celebrations a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging communities to address and effect change on ecological issues through the arts. The reservoir created by the construction of Vaigai Dam now impounds about 58,000 cubic ft. She has produced large-scale theatrical pageants for the past 25 years such as the Rites of Spring: Procession to Save Our Gardens (1991-2005) on the Lower East Side of New York City, which mobilized a grass-root effort and directly led to the preservation of many community gardens on the Lower East Side and throughout New York City. [4] All our efforts have borne fruit.” Felicia Young of Earth Celebrations, who conceived the pageant, says, “I hope the people of Madurai take this first step to the next level by not polluting the river further.” Citing how her maiden project for the Hudson River at New York became successful with people’s participation, Felicia adds, “It’s a long consistent process to clean a river. She has worked on community focused design and poverty alleviation projects in India, Ghana, Kenya, Jamaica, Brazil, and Colombia. Water Users Association in Xlth Branch Canal Periyar Vaigai Project : Farmers Experience River imgation systems irrigates one third of the imga&d area in Tamil Nadu. The Vaigai Dam is built across the Vaigai River near Andipatti, in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu, southern India.It provides water for irrigation for the Madurai district and the Dindigul district as well as drinking water to Madurai and Andipatti. The Vaigai River, which originates on the eastern slope of the Western Ghats, flows east and discharges into the Bay of Bengal. But these monuments to urban life don’t build themselves. He has over three decades of experience in development work and is one of the key people in setting up Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN). The event was organised as part of the Vaigai River Restoration Project (VRRP), launched by Dhan Foundation on October 2 with the objective of restoring the legendary river to its old glory. DHAN has selected a dozen ‘river custodians’ and divided the stretch of the river from Kochadai to Viraganoor dam into 12 zones. Interlinking of rivers in India: The ambitious project of Inter-Linking of Rivers is the long-cherished dream of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Marco Polo called Madurai the most splendid province on Earth. Processionists will also carry water in small pots with a tag stating from where the water has been collected. Copyright 2021 | MH Edition lite WordPress Theme by MH Themes. Photo by S. James, Temple Chariot Procession at Madurai, Indian Panorama. The entire pageant will also get three random stops. “The poems compare the past glory of Vaigai to the present sorry state that the river is in,” says S. Babiola Anna, who has written one of the poems. Rickshaw during the procession all across India the route of the Vaigai River delta an. Setting up DHAN Foundation being taken to plant trees along the River the grand waterway it was at one.... 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