It is inevitable to recall the old story of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, the dubash of Chennai, bathing in the Cooum every day. Will the river, now highly polluted, be able to go back to its glory days? “It is a challenge. But the quality of the water in Chennai’s waterbodies will improve substantially after we plug the illegal sewage outfalls by 2025,” says K.N. Nehru, Minister for Municipal Administration, in an interview with The Hindu. He also proposes a project to manufacture pipes in private-public partnerships for the purpose of underground sewerage schemes and other applications, saying it will cut the cost
