A day ago, these river banks witnessed tension between land encroachers and the revenue department. But the get-together under the Kallai bridge on Tuesday was against everything that led to the destruction of rivers, including the encroachments that are slowly killing most of the rivers in the district.
The “Jala Samrakshana Sandesha Yatra” organised by Jilla Puzhasamrakshana Ekopana Samithi was flagged off by District Collector U.V. Jose on Tuesday on the banks of the Kallai river in the city. The samithi, being a collective of various local river protection committees in the district, plans to work along with them in creating grassroots-level awareness on the need to protect the rivers and ways to achieve it.
The rally that started from Kallai will travel along the banks of the major rivers in the district and halt at specific localities where awareness programmes will be held against dumping of waste, encroachments and destruction of mangrove forests.
Pamphlets will be distributed demanding action against river encroachers and measures to protect rivers from the same. The local people will be mobilised to form groups for the protection of rivers. They will also be administered an oath on river protection.
Rivers and streams in the district such as Kallai, Mankavu river, Chaliyar, Mampuzha, Poonoor river, Iruvazhinji river and Kuttiady river will be covered under the campaign. The campaign will conclude on the banks of Korappuzha on Wednesday where District Panchayat President Babu Parasseri will be the guest of honour.
Most environmentalists associated with river protection in the district are part of the rally headed by the president of the samithi, T.K. Aziz and general secretary Faisal Pallikkandy.
