As part of the continuing efforts to protect the Mampuzha river from pollution and human encroachment, the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), with the support of the local panchayats, has started installing signboards on the banks of the river urging the people to save the river from pollution.
Scientists from the CWRDM said the initiative was part of their information, education and communication activities for the protection of nature and the environment. The signboards would be installed in various places of Peruvayal, Perumanna and Olavanna grama panchayats, they added.
“Due to excess waste dumping and human encroachment, the width of the river has come down in various locations which prompted us to take up the new drive,” said Madhavan Komath, CWRDM scientist and coordinator of the initiative. “We launched the new drive as part of the ecological restoration programme of Mampuzha River,” he added.
Mr. Madhavan pointed out that the river was once the lifeline for the people in three grama panchayats, especially for the transportation of goods and other essential commodities. The 18-km long river over the past years has been deteriorating due to heavy silt deposit, accumulation of sludge, solid waste and garbage dumping, he said.
Earlier, the CWRDM had initiated the planting of bamboo samplings along the banks of the river as part of a natural protection drive. Three species of bamboo saplings from the Kerala Forest Research Institute had been selected for the project.
