The Meenachil-Meenanthara-Kodoor river relinking and rejuvenation campaign taken up by NGOs with governmental support has entered a crucial phase with Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar’s announcement that paddy cultivation in 1,100 acres of fallow land will be started.
The river relinking project will become imperative, as the plan is to irrigate the fields with water from the newly rejuvenated riverine system.
Nod for ₹2.68 crore
According K. Anilkumar, convenor of the campaign, the Minister has assured administrative sanction for ₹2.68 crore for the paddy cultivation initiative. The sowing has been scheduled between November 20 and November 30.
“We have restored the heart of Kottayam,” Mr. Sunil Kumar had said after visiting the cleaning operation of the Kanjikkuzhy Thode, one of the key rivulets that drain into Kodoor river.
For the past one month, the campaign to relink the old water source that played a key role in the socio-cultural, agricultural and trading past of Kottayam is on.
Rivulets
As the campaigns pick up pace, it is not only the three major rivers that get revived but also a whole lot of rivulets that once helped paddy cultivation of the area.
With the State government stepping in to take the campaign forward, the area will witness an agrarian revolution, says Mr. Anil Kumar.
