The rest of the world might have forgotten the Punnamada Lake as soon as its waters became calm after the Nehru Trophy Boat Race on Saturday. But a group of 60 students, assisted by their teachers, and other concerned citizens, went back to the venue of the boat race on Monday, joining hands on Independence Day, to remove whatever plastic they could from the lake. And by evening, they had a few boatloads full of what spectators had dumped in the waters during the daylong race.
The cleaning drive, which was inaugurated by district panchayat president Prathiba Hari, had students from the Jalapadam Wetland clubs of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Environment and the Ecology (ATREE) and from the Government High School, Kuppapuram; St. Michael's School, Thathampally; and St. Thomas College, Alappuzha. A Kudumbasree team led by District Tourism Promotion Council officials too helped them in the arduous task.
The heaps of plastic bottles were handed over to rag-pickers who would take them for recycling, according to ATREE Coordinator Latha Bhaskar.
Stir plan
Appreciating the spirit of all those who came forward to clean up the lake, Ms. Bhaskar said there was a need to keep the lake clean on a continuous basis for which houseboat operators too should be appropriately trained.
Pointing out that during recent public interactions of the ATREE in several panchayats in the region, clam collectors were complaining about houseboats dumping waste in the lake, tying them up in plastic bags, Ms. Bhaskar said this waste settled in the lakebed and was getting entangled in the nets of the clam collectors.
The clam collectors were planning an agitation under the leadership of ATREE as part of which they would dig out the plastic waste and pile up the entire load on the shore to show the authorities so that the intensity of the situation would be known and something would be done about strictly enforcing a ban on dumping of plastic in the lake, she said.
