Coimbatore: While the Noyyal River has been the lifeline of the district and surrounding regions, not many people would have tasted the river water. The chances are little, as in the recent years the river has been polluted by sewage and plastic.However, you’ll get an opportunity to taste Noyyal in its purity today, the World Water Day. Volunteers of environmental forum Kovai Kulangal Paadhukappu Amaippu have collected water from the source of Noyyal near the city and would distribute it to the public at five places.Volunteers of the forum said they visited Noyyal’s source at Kovai Kuttralam falls on Thursday and with the permission of forest officials, collected water from there. “We have collected water in 50 cans of 20litre capacity each. We chose a spot above where people bathe so that the water would be clean,” R Manikandan, a representative of the forum, told TOI.There are streams such as Periyaru, Chinnaru, Neelivaaikkal and Vaidehi Falls in the area, he said. “The Noyyal originates there and travels 160km to reach the Kalingarayan Canal near Karur and then merges with the Cauvery at Noyyal.”The water they collected from the spring was as tasty as that of Siruvani, said Manikandan. “We plan to distribute the water to people so that on tasting it they would know the importance of preserving the river,” he said.The forum would set up stalls at Gandhipuram Bus stand, Ukkadam Bus Stand, Town Hall Bus Stop, Race Course and opposite to the railway station.Of late, Noyyal has been heavily polluted by sewage, construction debris and plastic, said Manikandan. While volunteer organisations have done their bit to clear the channels and check dams along the river’s course, more needs to be done, he said. “Noyyal is not connected with irrigation directly, but indirectly as it recharges ground water. Because of this, not much is spent by the official bodies to preserve it. But the river has been the backbone of cotton cultivation and the subsequent industrial development in the area and needs to be preserved.”

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