The Forest Department has drawn a comprehensive plan to rejuvenate the Kudumbur rivulet and the massive volumes of Mangrove Forests in the rivulet within the Baikampady Industrial Area to preserve them as a Green Belt.
This follows one of the recommendations of the joint committee report headed by Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra regarding rejuvenation of the Baggundi Lake, preventing flow of sewage, industrial waste and dumping of solid waste into the Lake, the Kudumbur Rivulet and the Phalguni (Gurupura) river.
Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had taken up a suo motu case on the fish kill in Phalguni River following a news report in The Hindu on April 24, 2022, and constituted the Committee to go into the issue.
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Mangaluru, Y.K. Dinesh Kumar gave an overview of the rejuvenation plan for the rivulet and the Mangroves at a meeting chaired by Dr. Rajendra on the issue here on Tuesday, October 18. He said Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., has agreed to fund the rejuvenation mission over a few years.
Restoration work
Mr. Kumar told The Hindu that the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) wanted the area, sandwiched between industries and human settlements, be preserved as a Green Belt. The restoration plan was shared with MRPL and the company has agreed to fund ₹16 crore for the project.
The twin goals of rejuvenation of Kudumbur rivulet and Mangrove Forests have to be achieved by preventing flow of industrial effluents, domestic sewage and dumping of solid waste into the Rivulet. There was too much of water stagnation in the Rivulet course degrading water quality while creeks have been blocked by the dumped solid waste. Mangroves, as a consequence, have been dying, Mr. Kumar said.
While the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) have to ensure waste water does not flow into the Rivulet and solid waste is not dumped into it, the Forest Department would undertake clearing blockage of creeks. This would ensure the region witnesses adequate tidal cycle through the backwaters of the Phalguni river.
Once the tidal cycle was restored, the Department would start planting of fresh Mangrove plants of different varieties as at present only one variety of plants was present, Mr. Kumar said.
All these works should ultimately result in ecological restoration bringing back biodiversity in the region with the revival of different flora and fauna, the DCF said.
