If all goes well, the river Cooum could not only lose the muck and stench that today define it, but will also sport a trendy look with a nice marina where an armada of yachts and pleasure boats could dock.

At least, that is the desire of Mr Ashok Rastani Thakker, Commodore of the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association. The Association plans to build a marina at the mouth of the Cooum river, along the southern bank.

The Rs 30-crore project involves first building a breakwater in the sea so that the waters at the marina are placid and the boats don't keep bobbing up and down with the incursion of waves. However, the by-catch is a more important function – the breakwater will prevent silting and clogging of the mouth of the river, resulting in the waters flowing into the sea.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, is very much in favour of the project, Mr Thakker told Business Line today. The project is yet to get the approval of the State Government but it is now taken to be a matter of formality.

The docking facilities will come on the river, but the other features of the project will be put up on the bank – a boat repair facility, a base for Tamil Nadu coastal police, sailing academy.

The most important of them is the boat repair facility. Mr Thakker says that some 3,000 boats circumnavigate the globe each year. There is no proper repair facility in this part of the world – after Phuket in Thailand the nearest is in the Mediterranean.

Once these facilities come up, Chennai would be capable of hosting world events, such as pre-qualifying events for Olympics.

The Association wants to put up the marina and the attendant facilities on its own, with no expectation of financial support from the Government. All the association asks of the Government is land and approvals, Mr Thakker said.

( >mramesh@thehindu.co.in )

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