Management board or authority should be formed for all river basins to preserve their ecosystem and prevent further deterioration. The proposed authority should incorporate farmers, women and related government and private institutions.
These were part of the 10 recommendations made at a two-day meet organised by the Tata-Dhan Academy here to commemorate the first Tamil Nadu River Week. The conference, which was held with the objective of assessing the current status and extent of damages that happened to Tamil Nadu rivers, was inaugurated by K. Veera Raghava Rao, Collector, on Tuesday.
While calling for eviction of all encroachments in the flood plains of rivers, the meet, which concluded on Wednesday, said that pollution due to discharge of liquid waste and dumping of solid waste must be stopped by coordinated efforts of State pollution control board, civic bodies and elected representatives. Proper awareness of the health status of the river should be created among the public. Tanks and other waterbodies in the river system should also be integrated into the revival plan of the river ecosystem.
The meet, in which water experts, officials and students participated, reiterated the demand for immediate formation of Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Authority. While pointing out that a river was the lifeline of society, it called for an end to destruction of biodiversity and ecology of the originating sites of rivers. Its other recommendation was installation of rain gauge at village and panchayat levels, a release said.
