Coimbatore : Isha Foundation Wednesday kick-started ‘Cauvery Calling’ movement in Tamil Nadu with a vehicle rally, which will cover 28 districts in the State and Karnataka in the Cauvery Basin to raise awareness about the fresh approach to farming.

To mark the movement, a convoy of vehicles was flagged off from the famed Adiyogi, the 112 ft bust of Shiva at the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains, by the Isha founder, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev..

‘Cauvery Calling’ offers a fresh approach to farming with an economically lucrative agroforestry model that is proven. It has not only enriched soil and enhanced groundwater levels, but has also contributed to a growth in farmers’ wealth within a five to eight year period, Sadhguru said.

The movement will enable farmers to plant 242 crore trees in the Cauvery basin with an economically attractive proposition to make it sustainable and increase its acceptability in the farmer community. It will also restore water flow levels of the river.

“it is a shameful matter that so many farmers have committed suicide in the country in the last 15 years,” he said, underlining the need for such a movement.

It will greatly help if the government provides subsidy for four years to farmers who convert to agroforestry, he said adding that Isha had approached the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments in this regard.

The rally will create awareness about ‘Cauvery Calling’ among villages in the Cauvery basin.

The month-long rally is expected to reach thousands of farmers in the Cauvery belt of the two states.

A combination of video clips, personal interactions and printed literature will create mass awareness about the ecological and economic benefits of agroforestry.

Events are to be organized at Taluk headquarters in villages along the route and field officers from Project Greenhands as well as agroforestry experts will participate in these events to share their knowledge, experiences and success stories of farmers who have adopted the lucrative agroforestry model.

Sadhguru will also lead a bike rally from Talacauvery, the source of the river, in September. Over two weeks, he will ride with a group of bikers from Talacauvery to Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu where Cauvery meets the ocean.

BJP Tamil Nadu Unit General Secretary, Vanathi Srinivasan, General Secretary Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi, E R Eswaran, Puthiya Tamizhagam founder Dr K. Krishnaswamy,and actor Radhika Sarathkumar were among those who participated in the event.