Villagers in the rustic parts of Puthukkulangara, Thalayar, and Eramallikkara in the Varattar river basin spread across Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha gave a hearty welcome to the three Ministers who had come to review the progress of the river rejuvenation project they had launched a month ago.
Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas, and Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar reached the river mouth of Varattar at Vanchippotil Kadavu at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Their joy knew no bounds when they saw the commendable work carried out by the apolitical popular committee in clearing the weeds and other blocks in the Aadi-Pampa stream, a tributary of the Pampa into which the Varattar opens.
The Ministers addressed fairly large congregations of villagers at Puthukkulangara, Thalayar, and Eramallikkara on the banks of the Varattar and interacted with the people in an effort to understand their concerns and apprehensions.
Addressing the villagers, Dr. Isaac said the government was planning to convert the Varattar river banks into a biodiversty zone after completing the ongoing river rejuvenation programme.
A five-metre wide footpath would be constructed on either banks of the river, after recovering the river poromboke. Trees of all species found in the State would be grown along the banks, a distance of 9 km, from its origin at Vanchippottil Kadavu to Valathode in Alappuzha, where it merges with the river Manimala, Dr. Isaac said. He said each tree would be having a barcode which would provide all available information about it to the people who can scan the barcode using their smart phones.
Dr. Isaac said the proposed zone would attract tourists to experience the nature in its real sense and also generate new employment opportunities to the local people, he said.
Three bridges
The Minister said three bridges would be constructed across the Varattar and all the small rivulets and other canals leading to the river to would be rejuvenated, besides reviving cultivation in the paddy fields in the river basin. He said the necessary budget allocation for the project would be made in the next annual budget of the State government.
People’s project
The Water Resources Minister said so far, the government hadn’t spent a single paise for the ongoing rejuvenation project, making it a model people’s project.
The project is managed by popular committees comprising villagers cutting across political affiliations. They mobilised funds for weed-clearing and other preliminary works in the river and every penny is made strictly accountable. The public contribution has touched ₹10 lakh, so far, and the Agriculture Minister too donated ₹16,000 during his visit on Tuesday.
Mr. Sunil Kumar stressed the importance of conserving every available water source in the State.
K.K. Ramachandran Nair, Raju Abraham, Veena George, MLAs; T.N. Seema, Haritha Keralam Mission director; Ajayakumar Varma, scientist; and K.A .Joshi, Superintending Engineer of Water Resources Department; were also present.
