What Ramky, a 23-year-old fisherman in Pichavaram Village, is witnessing is nothing short of magic. As he throws his net into the Buckingham Canal, and it brings up fish. That means a lot for Ramky and the 50 families of the Irula community of the village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, who depend on fishing to survive.
A stinking body of stagnant water earlier, the 3-km stretch of the Buckingham Canal has been transformed into a beautiful flowing channel lined by mangrove saplings and trees.
Ramky was part of the magic that unfolded over six months. He and around 600 villagers of Pichavaram joined hands with the administration to clean up the 3-km stretch of the canal that snakes through his village. They removed 750 kg of plastic waste that was choking the channel and planted saplings.
The initiative of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Cuddalore district administration was turned into a people’s movement as hundreds of Pichavaram’s villagers joined in. The drive was completed in mid-March.
The Buckingham Canal is 796-km long and runs along the Coromandel Coast through Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The canal, which is the longest in south India, terminates at Pichavaram village. It is vital for the flood-drainage system of Chennai and other towns and villages in Tamil Nadu.
The catch from the canal now will also mean that the fishermen of Pichavaram can now fish in their village stretch of the canal and don’t need to venture out in search of prized spots in other villages.
A large part of the canal remained clogged for years, but the cleaning efforts at Pichavaram could provide a model for other areas. The short-term result, Pichavaram’s villagers tell India Today Digital, are already there, within days. The long-term result, officials tell us, will be transformative.
“This canal is very significant for our village. Seven months ago, it was completely choked with plastics and other garbage, which led to the blockage of water. Stagnant and dirty water triggered foul odour around the areas of the canal,” says Kalidass, a villager and fisherman, tells India Today Digital.
“Due to the blockage of the canal, there was no scope for tidal movement for the water, which led to waterlogging in the streets of our village,” he adds.
The Tamil Nadu government decided to restore and rejuvenate the 3-km stretch of the canal under the climate-resilient village initiative.
“The climate-resilient village initiative is a planned action for the restoration and rejuvenation of water bodies. Pichavaram is one of the 11 locations where this project is being undertaken,” says a senior officer in the state secretariat to India Today Digital. The official requested anonymity because of the upcoming election in Tamil Nadu.
As officials visited the site and word went around of the plan, the villagers expressed their willingness to participate in the cleaning drive. They knew too well how the cleaning of the canal was crucial for their village.
According to an official statement, the initiative was carried out under the leadership of the Cuddalore district administration, with coordination from the Forest Department and other agencies. The work was led on the ground by Forest Range Officer Iqbal, with support from District Collector Sibi Adhithya and senior officials.
“An initiative that works with the intention of ‘for the people and by the people’ can never fail. When a project turns into a people’s movement, it will always succeed, and we are witnessing this in Pichavaram,” the senior officer explains.
HOW VILLAGERS HELPED OFFICIALS IN BUCKINGHAM CANAL RESTORATION?
The residents of Pichavaram worked with the forest department officials during the entire course of the restoration drive for six months. They worked on all days, barring Sundays.
Pichavaram village leader, Kumar, says they created teams to work on a rotational basis, so that the primary job of the villagers didn’t get hampered.
“Residents of our village have been regularly working with the forest department in several projects. Some of our villagers also get paid for the work they do for the department. But this canal restoration and rejuvenation project was special because nearly 600 residents of our village worked shoulder to shoulder with the officials,” says Kalidass, a villager and fisherman.
The canal’s restoration process began with the clearing of plastics and garbage, which was mainly carried out by the villagers. Desilting and excavation were carried out to foster the canal’s natural water-carrying capacity and improve tidal exchange.
Once the canal was in good shape, nearly 3,000 mangroves saplings were planted along both sides to stabilise the shoreline, restore hydrological balance, and enhance biodiversity in the Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem. The cost of this project was Rs 69 lakhs.
FLOODS, STINK TRIGGERED CUDDALORE VILLAGERS TO JOIN INITIATIVE
“The blockage of the canal and the stale water created hygiene issues for a school that is located near it,” explains 42-year-old Kumar. He says it was too difficult for children to travel to school during heavy rain due to severe waterlogging, and parents worried for their safety.
The villagers of Pichavaram had been facing a host of issues, including a constant foul smell and flooding of streets during rains, due to the choked canal.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Tamil Nadu received 1,027.7 mm of rainfall in the 2025 monsoon, which makes it one of the states that received above-average rainfall. Such heavy rainfall in Pichavaram ended up in flooding the streets as the canal saw zero tidal movement.
It was as if the government plan was something that the villagers like Ramky, Kalidass and Kumar were waiting for. They jumped into the drive headlong.
BUCKINGHAM CANAL CLEANING: SCIENTIFIC PLANNING, VILLAGERS PARTICIPATION
It wasn’t just a spur-of-the moment decision. The cleaning of the 3-km stretch of the Buckingham Canal was preceded by detailed scientific planning. The administration partnered with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and their technical team visited the village and provided insights on how the cleaning was to be carried out.
Officials said the youth of the village and tribal communities played a major role in the project. On the ground, the drive was led by Forest Range Officer Iqbal, with support from District Collector Sibi Adhithya and other officials.
“Villagers understood the value of this canal, as an important medium not only for irrigation but also as a drainage pathway. The blockage in the Buckingham water channel led to floods in the village. So, people came together to rejuvenate this canal,” Iqbal tells India Today Digital.
The officials highlight how the income of Pichavaram’s fishing community would get a boost from the canal’s restoration.
HOW WILL THE CLEAN CANAL BOOST INCOME OF CUDDALORE’S FISHING COMMUNITIES?
Villagers say the restored canal is already witnessing an increase in the number of fish in it. That, officials suggest, will go up manifold with the mangrove ecosystem developing fully.
“Due to the canal’s disastrous state, we had to travel to canals and rivers of other villages for better catch. Travelling was one of the major expenses we faced. That has now been sorted,” says Ramky. Kumar and Kalidass also agree that they are saving money earlier spent on travel as the village stretch of the canal is also giving catch.
And, this is just the beginning.
The mangrove and saplings along the canal will help the breeding of marine species. The roots of the mangroves provide shelter, and the leaves of the plants, when they fall into the canal, boost fish numbers, according to the fishermen.
Not just fishing and drainage, the cleaning of the canal will help in commutes and transportation within the village.
“After restoration, there is more water in the channel, which helps with plying of boats in the canal,” says the official at the secretariat.
The villagers have revived the canal, Pichavaram’s lifeline, through the magic of collaboration. The flowing water through the 3-km stretch will be a model for everyone else to bring the rest of the Buckingham Canal back to life.
– Ends
