Thavathiru Perur Adheenam Santhalinga Maruthachala Adigalar today (June 23) launched an awareness Ratha Yatra to protect the Noyyal river from Adiyogi in Isha. The river is the main water source of the Kongu region.
A large number of spiritual leaders and sannyasis including Madurai Atheenam, Thuzavoor Atheenam, Patharagudi Atheenam, Tiruppadaripuliyar Atheenam, Kongu Mandal Jeer joined the celebrations marking the beginning of the auspicious activity. Akila Bharatiya Sannyasis Sangam organized the celebration at Isha. It began with the Valli Kummi dance performed by hundreds of villagers followed by Kolattam dance by students of Isha Samskriti.
Speaking on the occasion, Perur Atheenam said, “Noyyal River, a tributary of Kaveri River, originates at the foot of Velliangiri Hill known as South Kailash and merges with Kaveri in Karur district. Noyyal is a river that adds wealth to four districts. Hundreds of years ago, 38 dams were built across the river, enriching the region with numerous ponds. However, the condition of Noyyal river is very bad now. The river is heavily polluted.”
“In order to restore it, Akila Bharatiya Sannyasi Sangam is going to organize a festival called ‘Noyyal Peruvizha’ from August 25 to August 31 in Perur. Before that, we have started a Ratha Yatra today from Adiyogi in Isha to create awareness about this,” he shared.
Madurai Atheenam said, “There is not enough awareness among the people about cleanliness. This Noyal Ratha Yatra will help to increase that awareness and promote the culture of treating rivers as sacred,” he said.
The spiritual leaders also visited the different consecrated spaces in Isha including Dhyanalinga, Linga Bhairavi and Theerthakunds. Speaking about his experience of these spaces Madurai Atheenam remarked, “Visiting Isha is a great virtue.”
Swami Srimukha, Coordinator of Isha’s Save Soil movement, said, “It is very necessary for farmers to switch to a tree-based farming system to increase the water supply of Noyyal river. There are about 12 lakh agricultural lands in the Noyal watershed area. If 100 trees are planted in one acre, 12 crore trees can be planted. We are planning to plant 12 lakh saplings this year and 2 crore saplings in the next 5 years in agricultural lands in the Noyyal watershed area through the Cauvery Calling Movement.”
The initiative comes against the backdrop of Thiru Shanmuga Sundaram, Pollachi MP. Various organizations including Isha’s Cauvery Calling Movement; Velliangiri Uzhavan Farmer Producers Organization, Siruthuli; and Coimbatore Ponds Protection Movement are working in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu government.
The main objectives of the project are to ensure permanent water supply in the Noyyal river, to keep the river clean without sewage, and to prevent the accumulation of plastic waste. Implementation of this project in the Noyyal river, which travels for a distance of about 180 km, has been allotted to different NGOs for each specific km. Accordingly, Isha has been assigned the first 4 km for Isha.
It is noteworthy that before the start of this project, the Cauvery Calling Movement distributed free saplings and enabled the planting of 2 lakh trees by the farmers in the region.
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