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To know more about Dawn Fest and about mangrove forest in Pichavaram, visit the following link to district administration’s official website.

A DAWN FEST AT PICHAVARAM

Showcasing Pichavaram - The Hindu

KALYANI CANDADE

The Dawn Fest seeks to place the vast lake and its mangroves on the global eco-tourism map.

An exercise in harmony: At the Dawn Fest 2008 at Chinnavaikkal.

Rajendra Ratnoo, the Collector of Cuddalore, is a man with a mission: to put Pichavaram on the global eco-tourism map.

Ratnoo’s strategy is simple — and brilliant. “The aim is to showcase the potential of Pichavaram to relevant and concerned stakeholders — the administration, policy makers, the tourism industry, media, and the locals,” he says. The Dawn Fest was a conference with a difference: a weekend of thoughtful, passionate and creative showcasing of the tourism potential of Chidambaram and Pichavaram; bringing together the history, the cultural heritage and the ecology of the place.
Leitmotif

Fittingly, the highlight of the event was a visit to the island of Chinnavaikkal, flanked by the backwaters on one side and the Bay of Bengal on the other. This was the leitmotif of the Dawn Fest: to watch the sun paint the sky at dawn — to strains of mellifluous music and to the salute of suryanamaskar on the beach… This was eco-tourism, bringing together the students of Annamalai University with their music and their yoga and knowledge of marine biology, the people of Killai Panchayat, with their boats and their knowledge of the island and the mangroves and the water, and us, the practice-run tourists…

Later, as we drifted past the mangroves in boats, students of marine biology briefed us on the mangroves and answered questions. Considered one of the healthiest occurrences in the world, the Pichavaram mangroves cover an area of over 400 hectares in the Vellar-Coleroon estuarine complex. An intricate system of canals, channels and creeks create myriad islands, and a unique ecosystem that spans three mangrove wetland Reserve Forests : Killai, Pichavaram and Pichavaram Extension area. We floated past vast stretches of brilliant green rooted firmly in shallow water, with their strange aerial roots growing down from high above us, and their unique reproduction system that enables the fruit to float away to colonise new areas — and, when the time is right, put down roots and send out shoots…
Increased awareness

The water was clean and bright, much cleaner than the mangroves we had seen in Goa or in the Andamans. Ratnoo is happy that we noticed. Yes, we had a cleaning drive and we are educating the local people, he beams. There is still much to be done, but the beginning is encouraging.

Led by the dynamic and forward-thinking Ravichandran and inspired by Ratnoo, the people of Killai Panchayat are extremely enthusiastic and hopeful about the concept of eco-tourism in the area. The cultural evening they hosted for us was an eye-opener, showcasing the wealth of talent and skill in native dance and martial art forms, as well as the effort that went into making the show memorable. Karagam, Kolattam, Kalari, all seem well and alive among the people of Killai. The accompanying commentary was also telling. “You can bind our feet and chain our hands and burden us with a load on our head, but we will master the load and dance with it, that is the nature of Woman,” proclaims the voice on the mike with vehemence as the girls dance the Karagam without a care in the world.
Hope ahead

Only the tsunami boats are a grim reminder of their struggle to remake their lives. But they are hopeful: Ratnoo is confident that eco tourism can supplement their income substantially through revenue from serving as guides, taking tourists boating and other allied opportunities, without taking them away from being fishermen.

Dawn Fest comes to an end, but the wheels have been set in motion. And if Ratnoo has his way, Pichavaram will soon be one more place where everybody understands the meaning of low-volume, minimum impact, responsible travel.

Shoring up Pichavaram as tourist centre - The Hindu

A.V.Ragunathan

“Dawn Fest 2008” kicks off to a colourful start

PROMOTING TOURISM: “Dawn Fest 2008” being celebrated at Chinnavaikkal at Pichavaram in Cuddalore district on Sunday.

CUDDALORE: The two-day “Dawn Fest 2008” got off to a colourful start in the backwaters of Pichavaram near Chidambaram on Saturday. District Collector Rajendra Ratnoo, who inaugurated the fete, said the myriad hues of the sky before sunrise in the backdrop of the mangroves were a sight to behold.

Mr. Ratnoo told reporters that the aim of the event, conceptualised by him and funded by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department, was to showcase Pichavaram as an eco-tourism destination to the stakeholders of the tourism industry such as tour operators, tourism consultants and hoteliers.

He said Cuddalore district held out rich tourism potential of various nature including heritage and pilgrimage tourism (as it housed renowned temples such as Padaleeswarar temple, Natarajar temple and Hayagrivar temple), classical art forms (being promoted through the famed Natyanjali festival and Annamalai University), and beach tourism along the 54-km coastal line, including Chinnavaikkal, Thazhanguda and Silver beach.

The sunrise could be viewed from the Chinnavaikkal islet replete with lush coconut groves that could be easily accessed by boat ride in the backwaters. The islet was illuminated for the occasion and filled with strains of classical music presented by the students of the Music Department of Annamalai University.

While the guests were sailing the boats in the early hours on Sunday the students of the Centre for Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, who accompanied them explained the ecological importance of the mangroves that were home to large number of migratory birds, sources of livelihood to thousands of fishermen and Iruals, and bioshield at the time of natural disasters such as cyclone and the tsunami.

Pichavaram used to attract migratory birds such as seagull from Mongolia in April and after a brief sojourn the winged visitors would return to their native place. The Pichavaram area is now awash with dense colonies of seagulls.

As the sun was rising, the students of the Centre for Yoga Studies, Annamalai University, struck various postures or asanas, signifying paying obeisance to the mighty nature.

The evening was filled with cultural events, mostly in folk forms such as thappattam, karagattm, silambattam, fire show and Irulas’ kolattam.

A handful of foreign tourists too enjoyed the occasion.

Currently there is discussion about underground drainage construction work at Cuddalore in Cuddalore Online group. Please take an active part in this discussion.

In some parts of the town like in Govindasamy Nagar, new road was laid just before the starting the underground drainage work. Like many, I believe this is not just a lack of coordination between the departments, but done intentionally to loot away the fund allocated by doing a poor quality work, which anyhow will be covered up once the drainage works begins.

In some streets like in Periyanayagi Amman Kovil Street, the road laying work has started before the pipe laying work for the underground drainage is complete. As a result the new road is damaged as the drainage work progresses. It has been more than five years since road was laid last time in this street. Can’t they wait for a couple of months ? Isn’t this intentional ??

Road laying work in Periyanayagi amman kovil street in Thirupadhiripuliyur

I feel that it is impossible to capture everything that is going around in Cuddalore in the name of ‘underground drainage construction’ in a single article. So I will be writing a series of articles about the work in Cuddalore.

To my knowledge, irregularities and corruption behind this drainage work is not reported by other medias. So input from other sources are minimal.

It would be of great help if you can share about the irregularities and the politics behind the work in your locality. You can write your views as a comment or send a mail to cuddaloreonline [at] gmail [dot] com.