Pulicat fisherman revives oldest canal milestone in the country

Buckingham canal was finished in 1806 by a Scottish Basil Cochrane, extending the canal up to Pulicat at 25 miles north from Chennai. The 25th milestone at Pulicat was the last stone etched as ECC — East Coast Canal starting from Basin Bridge. Remaining canal milestones up to Odisha state were etched as CC — Coast Canal.

Though the 25th milestone has a lot of significance, many living in Pulicat didn’t understand it. M Suman, a local fisherman, who is also a heritage enthusiast came to know of the importance of it and decided to revive the milestone and bring attention to the Buckingham Canal. 

“The 25th milestone has a lot of importance in Buckingham Canal’s history and I wanted to revive it. The area surrounding the milestone had thorny bushes. I decided to strengthen the milestone by cleaning the surroundings. When I shared the news of the milestone to the youth here, they also joined me to clean the place,” Suman says excitedly. On August 15, along with a youth group, he will be planting 25 endemic trees off-the-coast at Pulicat.

He also had the support of Aarde Foundation and its founder architect Xavier Benedict. “Suman has good knowledge of the canal and takes visitors who are interested in knowing the milestone and Pulicat heritage. We could only find 18 milestones in Chennai and the 25th one is in Pulicat. Buckingham Canal was constructed in 1806 and the milestone was there since then. It is the end of the East Coast Canal. As per our research, it is the oldest canal milestone in India. The stone is located in a neglected area and we wanted to bring some attention to the canal. Buckingham canal and Pulicat lagoon play an important role in our ecosystem. Unlike, the Western Ghats the coastal lagoon attracts rain clouds. Hence, we need to protect it by all means. We are glad that Suman is interested in this and came forward to revive it. The lockdown has given us an opportunity to plant trees and revive the local heritage with the support of fishermen,” shares Xavier.