It used to be a river reborn. The now-defunct Attappady Hill Area Development Society (AHADS) had taken much pride in the restoration of the 38-km Kodungarappallam river using financial aid from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). But with AHADS winding up its activities three years ago, largely owing to stoppage of funds from JICA, the river has been reduced to a trickle, even in heavy monsoon. Illegal sand-mining and deforestation have made its death imminent.
“Indiscriminate sand-mining is killing the river which once won national attention because of the Japan aided eco-restoration initiatives. The river, which got a rebirth seven years ago, mostly dried up,” said K.A. Ramu, a local tribal activist. Illegal sand-mining is thriving on the riverbed though the river flows close to the busy Mannarkkad-Anaikatty-Coimbatore road. Local community alleges that there are mafias which carry the sand to Coimbatore to sell at higher prices.
A mass memorandum signed by green activists across the district and handed over to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking the river’s protection, has not yielded any result. Once a lifeline of Eastern Attappady, the river has become a dump yard. Massive deforestation is also happening in the river’s origins.
According to local people, Kodungarapallam got a rebirth after a long gap of 30 years. When it started flowing again, people thought it would soon be perennial. Once known for thick forests, Attappady became barren because of large scale deforestation by contractors and industries. As a result, Kodungarapallam, a tributary of river Bhavani which flows into neighbouring Tamil Nadu was reduced to a seasonal river, flowing only during the monsoon.
“It was extensive soil-water conservation and vegetation building by AHADS that resuscitated the river. Thousands of contour trenches, gabion dams and, check dams were constructed. Many trees were planted,” said former AHADS employee S. Palaniswamy.
Since 2004, water flow in the river started increasing. That time it won wide appreciation as it was the first time in south India a seasonal river was flowing round the year.
