School and college students joining residents in the greening initiative in Orathupalayam reservoir in Kangayam taluk under Vanathukkul Tiruppur project on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: S. SIVA SARAVANAN
Taking forward its ‘Vanathukkul Tiruppur Project’, under which 25 lakh trees were raised in over a decade with about 85% survival rate, Vetry Trust, on Saturday (September 12), planted 15,000 saplings of drought-resistant native tree species on an 100-acre expanse cleared of prosopis juliflora in the Orathupalayam reservoir basin across the Noyyal river between Chennimalai and Kangayam.
In the mass afforestation drive that began in 2015 in memory of late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Vetri Trust had planted 6,000 saplings in the first phase in 2024 and 4,000 sapling in the subsequent phase during 2025, in collaboration with the Kangayam-based Thuligal Trust, and, through drip-irrigation, saw through the high survival rate.
The trustees, comprising eminent industrialists in Tiruppur, saw in the greening initiative a reparation for the pollution caused to the Orathupallam dam by the dyeing and bleaching units, before the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system and waste water recycling were put in place.
K.C. Kulandaisamy, president of the association of farmers affected by the pollution of Orathupalayam dam, attributed the decrease in the TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) level from a whopping 6,000 to 1,500, which, he noted, was manageable for agriculture, to the environmental remediation undertaken by Vetry Trust, and called for further efforts for improved remediation.
A view of the Orathupalayam dam across the Noyyal river in Tirupur district on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
S. SIVA SARAVANAN
Citing a successful experiment, K.R. Nagarajan, chairman of Ramraj Cotton, mooted utilisation of recycled wastewater by dyeing units.
Vetry, according to the trustees, now strives to position Tiruppur as a model for carbon sequestration through creating green cover on large swathes of otherwise unused land.
Industrialists in Tiruppur are on the same page for environmental remediation, said founder-president of Vetry Trust T.R. Sivaram.
The Tiruppur Exporters’ Association was positioning Vanathukkul Tiruppur project globally as an identity for the textile city, alongside its ZLD and water recycling initiatives for environmental remediation, said its Joint Secretary Anand Muthusamy.
K. Kalidasan, wildlife conservationist and president of Coimbatore-based Osai Environmental Organisation, said carbon sequestration through the Vanathukkul Tiruppur project was vital for the local environment, and made a fervent plea to the State government to declare areas under Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive.
Speaking on the occasion, Kangayam MLA N.S.N. Nataraj called for optimal utilisation of the government scheme of free electricity for water recycling.
The planted saplings were confined to the list of 50 drought-resistant and water-resilient native tree species identified by SACON (Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), aimed at reviving local bird populations and restoring native biodiversity to the Noyyal river ecosystem.
The saplings were planted by 200 students from the Kangayam Institute of Technology, 60 students from Kumaraguru Institutions, and 60 students (30 National Green Corps and 30 NCC cadets) from the Tiruppur Jaivabhai Government School, besides the residents of adjoining villages of Maravampalayam, Keeranur, and Thammareddypalayam.
Published – September 12, 2026 08:43 pm IST
