TIRUNELVELI
Collector V. Vishnu inaugurated the cleaning of the Tamirabharani and irrigation channels at Gopalasamudram near here on Tuesday.
Under its ‘Clean Tamirabharani, Pride of Nellai’ initiative, the district administration will remove the Acacia juliflora grown abundantly for about 2 km hampering free flow of water along the channels and the watercourse. The TVS Trust has joined hands with the district administration in this task. He said the district administration had started the cleaning of the river from Papanasam. The ancient ‘kalmandapam’ (granite mandapam) would also be restored.
“We’ve planned to organise Tamirabharani conservation awareness events in these new-look ‘kalmandapam’ at regular intervals so that the locals will continue to conserve these structures,” he said.
On removal of encroachments along the Tamirabharani watercourse, he said the farmers who had raised crops on government lands closer to the river had been served notices asking them not to cultivate any more in these illegally occupied lands. Notices had also been issued asking those who had made structural encroachments on the lands closer to the river like brick kiln to remove them on their own immediately.
“If not, the illegal structures will be removed and the expenditure would be recovered from them besides initiating legal proceedings against them. Thereafter, sustained monitoring will be done to prevent any structural encroachment in future,” he said.
When asked about the flow of domestic waste into the Tamirabharani in the corporation area, he said the second phase of underground drainage scheme was being implemented to save the river from pollution while the re-tender had been floated for executing the third and final phase.
“Instead of waiting for the completion of underground drainage project, we are keen on completing the cleaning operation from Papanasam to Suththamalli. The operation should improve the quality of Tamirabharani water so that the water could be drunk straightaway without using any purifier. It will be possible only when the cleaning of the river becomes a people’s movement,” he said.
He said that the district administration was in touch with various organisations interested in nature and river conservation to involve them in this exercise.
The district administration will complete revival and cleaning of 75 water bodies and irrigation channels during the current fiscal under the ‘Nellai Neeravalam’ initiative with public participation and sponsorship from private firms.
