A tryst with Coimbatore’s tanks full again

The tanks that form part of the city’s unique water system are filled to the brim and bustling with birdlife. Subha J Rao goes on a whirlwind tour

Photos : K. Ananthan

Alive again Boys at the Narsampathy tank, a coot at Singanallur tank, the lily-filled Perur Pudukulam and a fisherman at work at Ukkadam Tank.

Aruchamy, a resident of Vellalore, saw the village tank full 29 summers ago. In the decades that followed, people built their homes near the canal where the excess water used to drain off. Children thought the tank was a playground.

This year, the tank is full again. And, an entire village is smiling. People living on the canal have to wade across knee-deep water to reach their homes. But, no one is complaining.

They have longed to see water hurtling down the canal.

Unique system

The story is the same across the 31 tanks (fed by channels from 25 anaicuts) that cover more than 100 km in Erode and Coimbatore districts.

These make up a unique water system based on gravity, said to be put in place by the kings who ruled this region. It is not as if the Noyyal, which feeds these tanks, did not swell with water all these monsoons. She did, but her canals and pathways were choked, transforming a once-mighty river into a smelly trickle.

Joint effort

After efforts by the Public Works Department, Siruthuli (a people’s initiative to recharge Coimbatore water table) and philanthropists to remove the large tracts of water hyacinth and desilt and widen the canals that feed the tanks, many of them have started looking like they used to.

We start our ‘tank yatra’ at the Singanallur tank, situated on the arterial Trichy Road. Sadly, effluents and sewage water have rendered most of it unfit to nurture anything other than the pesky water hyacinth.

A boating facility is in place, and water is plentiful, but the hyacinth has ensured that most of the boats are grounded. This year, Siruthuli cleared close to 80 acres, and work is still on.

Our next stop is the Vellalore tank, situated in the outskirts. It is interspersed with thorny bushes and shrubs, and is home to quite a few birds.

Picturesque

Kurichi tank, on the Pollachi Road, is a picturesque sight any day. Black cormorants and coots race each other in the choppy waters of the biggest tank in Coimbatore.

Cleaning work is on at this tank too, thanks to the efforts of the priest of the Pongaliamman temple on its banks, and a philanthropist.

Legend has it that centuries ago, a royal guard asked goddess Pongaliamman to guard the tank till he returned from the palace. At the palace, he beseeched the King to behead him, so that the goddess would protect the tank forever! S uch devotion for water!

Ukkadam, or the Coimbatore Big Tank, is next only to Kurichi in size, but it holds more water. And, life is back with a bang there. So are the fishermen who sitting on thermacol floaters and try their luck. Cranes flit in and out of the water, returning with food unfailingly. Next in line is Muthannan Kulam (Kumarasamy tank). Hyacinth rules here too, but the numerous birds try to divert your attention from the green patches.

The most choked tank in the system is the Krishnampathy tank. People tell you it is full, and you can only take their word for it. For, not a single drop of water is visible in the 175-acre tank — weeds and hyacinth form a vicious blanket.

In contrast is the Perur Pudukulam, lush with lilies and lotus. In another month, the clean waters of this tank will be carpeted with pink and white flowers. A golden coloured bird and a cormorant play peek-e-boo.

Panoramic

The view from the road is panoramic, with trees peppering the tank and birds flitting out of them. Narsampathy Tank, which follows, is a haven for all the village boys, who are making merry in the relatively clean waters, jumping and diving with gay abandon.

Sottaiyaandi Kuttai and Ganganarayana Samudram are next in line. They are twin tanks, with just a mud bund separating the two. Both are home to a wealth of birdlife. Darters and cormorants put up a merry dance and brilliant blue kingfishers tease, only to disappear the minute Ananthan trains his camera on them. All this, a mere 500 metres from the Perur temple. Not just this tank, most of the others in the city are also at walking distance from the main road or a bus stand.

Perfect holiday

At a time when everyone is complaining about lack of entertainment options, these tanks can be a great way to spend a holiday.

Only, they need to be developed. Better roads, some stone benches and security to ensure no one litters the area can make a world of difference. Take a trip there this weekend and see a facet of Coimbatore you never knew existed.

* * *

Narsampathy – 124 acres

Selvampathy – 70 acres

Kumarasamy – 95 acres

Perur Pudukulam – 265 acres

Sottaiyaandi Kuttai – 50 acres

Ganganarayana Samudram – 40 acres

Ukkadam tank – 320 acres

Valankulam – 160 acres

Kurichi tank – 334 acres

Vellalore tank – 86 acres

Singanallur – 285 acres

Sourced from www.thehindu.com

Akshaya Homes investing Rs 250 cr in Coimbatore

Launching three projects

Akshaya Homes, the Chennai-based real estate developer, plans to invest Rs 250 crore in the three projects it is launching here.

The company, which recorded a turnover of Rs 100 crore during last year, expects the business to grow to Rs 450 crore during the current fiscal and Rs 1,000 crore in the next year.

Speaking to newspersons here, Mr T. Chitty Babu, Managing Director, Akshaya Homes Pvt Ltd, said with the metros becoming over crowded, the IT companies were moving towards tier-II cities.

Akshaya wanted to capitalise on this trend and is launching its first residential project at Sundarapuram in Coimbatore which is being wooed by the IT and manufacturing industries. The project would have 142 apartments and the price is Rs 2,250 per sq feet. In line with the present trend, the project would have a club house, children’s play area with equipment, indoor recreational rooms and a mini AV theatre.

Residential project

He said the company was planning to launch a commercial cum high-end residential project on the Tiruchi road close to Race Course and an integrated project with an IT park and residential apartments on the Sathyamangalam road in the city. The total investment on these projects would be about Rs 250 crore.

Apart from Chennai and Coimbatore, the company would enter the real estate markets in Bangalore and Madurai this year. He expected the turnover of the group to be around Rs 450 crore during the current fiscal, up from Rs 100 crore turnover during last year.

Mr Chitty Babu said the company has also planned to enter in other towns in Tamil Nadu such as Hosur and Tirunelveli and spread its wings to big cities such as Hyderabad to establish a South Indian presence. Asked about the reasons for the growth optimism, he said the land bank for reaching a target of Rs 450 crore in the current fiscal was already available with the company. When this target was reached, the company would have 16 or 17 on going projects and about 10 projects would have been handed over. Similarly, for the next year, the company already has projects worth Rs 780 crore on hand and there would not be any hitch in reaching the Rs 1,000-crore turnover. He said the hike in home loan rates would not hamper the growth of the realty sector. With the economy firing on cylinders, he expected the housing sector to witness a sustained growth, at least for the next 4/5 years as housing demand was fuelled by growth in other sectors of the economy.

He said he has no plans to go for any public issue.

Soured from www.thehindubusinessline.com

DLF charts projects for Chennai, Coimbatore

DLF Home Developers, part of the Delhi-based DLF group, is to launch residential township projects in Chennai and Coimbatore.

Also in the pipeline is a Hilton hotel near Chennai at Siruseri on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) as part of a joint venture between DLF and Hilton Hotels Corporation. This plan is at a preliminary stage.

These are some of the projects that DLF has for Tamil Nadu, where it plans to invest over Rs 10,000 crore over the next three years.

Apart from this, DLF is likely to launch the two retail malls it announced earlier in Chennai. One is coming up at Ethiraj Salai, on the 4.5 acre property it bought from Mico two years ago, in the heart of the city. This would be a 4-5 lakh square feet mall with multiplex and a double basement. The other is to be built in Guindy.

The approval process is nearing completion, the company said. Sources said the two ‘mini township’ projects are planned near Chennai off OMR between Siruseri and Sholinganallur. The first, spread over 60 acres, is to be launched in two months and a second 150-acre facility, later. Another large township of over 400 acres is to come up near Sriperumbudur, about 25 km west of Chennai, in mid 2008.

Sources said the decision by one of the largest players in the real estate sector to launch residential projects on OMR is bound to have a telling impact on the market in Chennai.

At a time when there is a perception of a slump in the market for residential property, especially on the OMR, the move by the market leader to launch projects would rejuvenate the market, spur competition, and possibly set a new benchmark in prices.
Price speculation

Market sources say DLF is believed to be contemplating an aggressive price per square foot. While there is no confirmation on the price, it will be significantly lower than that of its competitors who have announced projects on OMR with prices higher than Rs 3,500 a square foot. DLF’s price would be a better ‘fit’ in a market where the slowdown in apartment purchase is attributed to a mismatch in pricing. Why would buyers want to shell out Rs 60 lakh and more for an apartment that is 30 km from the city, they ask.

Also, as a choice of location, instead of being on the OMR, DLF has chosen to put up projects a few km off OMR, taking advantage of the proximity to OMR while being away from the hustle and bustle of a main road.

DLF’s townships would have the advantage of being close to the place of work and to the proposed Siruseri-airport expressway, they said.
Coimbatore plan

The company is also planning a township project and a retail mall in Coimbatore. DLF is in the process of acquiring land in Coimbatore, which is seen as a major destination of investments in IT and industry in Tamil Nadu. The size of the township project would be decided by the land it is able to acquire at realistic prices, the sources said.

Widening of Avanashi Road set to start

The district administration has moved to ensure coordination among various agencies for widening the 16-km stretch of road from the Avanashi Road flyover to the Neelambur bypass road junction into a six-lane one, at Rs 27.5 crore.

Avanashi Road is the gateway to Coimbatore for vehicles coming from Erode, Salem, Bangalore and Chennai besides those from the hosiery town of Tirupur. The road, leading to the airport, also serves a number of residential colonies on either side besides corporate houses, educational institutions and hospitals. Traffic chaos used to reign on this stretch, especially during peak hours. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, during a visit here in February, announced that the arterial road would be made a six-lane one, taking into account the present traffic volume as well as future growth, especially in a context in which information technology firms were coming up at the proposed IT Park near Coimbatore Medical College. District Collector Neeraj Mittal recently had a coordination meeting with various agencies on the speedy completion of the work. Mr. Mittal told The Hindu that survey and alignment assessment had been completed. A joint inspection would be carried out by agencies such as the City Corporation, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and private telecom service providers for moving utility fixtures such as telephone cables, water lines, electric poles and transformers to the road boundary. The TNEB was preparing an estimate for shifting its poles and transformers, and the expenditure would be met from the project cost. All preliminary works will be in full swing by July 15.

After the survey, the authorities said there was enough space on either side to provide six lanes and there would be no need to demolish any structures. There will be minimal removal of encroachments, they said.

Robert Bosch investing Rs 250 cr in Coimbatore SEZ

Robert Bosch India Ltd, which has been allotted 21.88 acres on lease in the first dedicated Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for IT/ITES industries in Coimbatore, will invest about Rs 250 crore in its Coimbatore facility in the first phase.

The company has signed a deal with Coimbatore Hi-tech Infrastructure Private Ltd, promoted by KG Information Systems Ltd, which is forming the SEZ at Saravanampatty on the Coimbatore-Mysore road. Already Robert Bosch had established in 2006 a development centre at KG Information facility.

Mr Friedhelm Pickhard, Managing Director, Robert Bosch, Bangalore, told Business Line that since the establishment of the centre at Coimbatore, the number of associates (employees) had grown to 550 now, and they are involved in dive rse areas such as software and hardware engineering, mechanical design and business services.

The Coimbatore Bosch facility is a BPO and an engineering centre.

Mr Pickhard said the company has planned to begin construction on the facility in the last quarter of 2007 and would inaugurate the first phase in early 2009. The company has strong focus on research.

Nature of work

The Bosch associates would work on advance technologies designing new Electronic Control Unit for diesel and gasoline engines and other automotive applications such as portable navigation systems, semi-autonomous parking systems, adaptive cruise control and Autosar, the new upcoming software standard for automotive applications, and for this, Bosch is in touch with the universities in Coimbatore. Mr Pickhard said the company would be investing about €41 million (about Rs 250 crore) in its Coimbatore facility in the first phase.

The company would be developing its facility in the Saravanampatty SEZ in two or three phases.

By 2010, he expects to have around 2,500 associates at Coimbatore centre.

Mr Ashok Bakthavathsalam, Managing Director, KG Information, said the decision of Robert Bosch would not only create job opportunities in Coimbatore but the manufacturing sector also would benefit since Robert Bosch looks for partners for bringing complimentary strength to what it does.

He said the establishment of KG Information’s one-stop solution for infrastructure support was one of the major reasons for Robert Bosch to select Coimbatore as the second city (after Bangalore) for expansion.

He added that after Robert Bosch, Cognizant Technology Solutions and Perot Systems were expected to have their facilities in the SEZ.

The establishment of the SEZ would also benefit the adjoining villages with the creation of non-IT jobs.

First SEZ for pvt IT cos coming up in Coimbatore

The first SEZ exclusively for private IT/ITES companies in Coimbatore is being established by Coimbatore Hi-tech Infrastructure Private Ltd (CHIL), promoted by KG Information Systems Private Ltd (KGISL).

The SEZ, which is coming up on a 150-acre site in Saravanampatty, will offer facilities such as ready-to-occupy incubation space (for start-ups) and leased-out land where companies can build own facilities to match their business plans.

Besides, it would have amenities for commercial and social infrastructure, including hotels, residential accommodation and healthcare.

Robert Bosch India Ltd (RBIL), Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) and Perot Systems India have been allotted a total of 50 acres for their own facilities, while the remaining 100-acre area is being developed at a total investment of about Rs 1,000 crore over a three-year period.

Speaking to newspersons after inking the deal with RBIL, Mr Ashok Bakthavathsalam, Managing Director, KGISL, said that CHIL would be building three million sq feet of office space over the next three years.

The special purpose vehicle has been formed primarily to build, operate and run the SEZ.

The Centre has notified and authorised it to run the SEZ up to 150 acres as a single contiguous area.

Mr Bakthavathsalam expects good response from small and medium IT companies from other centres looking to expand outside.

He added that market studies showed that IT/ITES companies prefer exclusive SEZs rather than co-exist with other sectors like manufacturing in the same SEZs.

On plans to expand the size of the SEZ later, he said that he would have to approach appropriate Government bodies to carry them out.

“But land is available for future expansion. The number of jobs created after three years may be around 30,000.”

The plug-and-play facilities are expected to be ready by July 2008.

The company owns the land where the SEZ is coming up; much of it is dry land.

It bought the land directly from owners without any outside support.