Meenachil river restoration faces stiff opposition

Critics approach Kottayam Collector with a request to stop the works immediately saying that works will hamper the natural elevation of the river bed and destroy the riparian eco-system. Irrigation dept. maintains that the work does not include deepening of the river bed but removal of silt deposit.

Even as the authorities have resumed works to restore the Meenachil river near Peroor, the supporters and critics of the project have once again locked horns.

While the supporters have pre-empted protests at the work site by ensuring police protection, the members of the Meenachil River Protection Council, which opposes the project, have now approached the Kottayam District Collector with a request to stop the works immediately. In a memorandum, it has pointed out that the works will hamper the natural elevation of the river bed and destroy the riparian eco-system as a whole, besides leading to a loot of minerals worth ₹20 crore.

Reasons for opposing

According to S. Ramachandran, president of the organisation, water level in the river currently stands at least four metres lower than what it was 50 years ago while the height difference between the riverbed and that of the Vembanad lake — to which it flows — is up to 30 feet. He attributed this difference in depth to unscrupulous sand-mining over the years.

“On the right side of the river in Peroor, where the river restoration works are currently in progress, there stands a riverine forest, that has been home to different varieties of riparian plant species, commonly called Attuvanchi. Some of the trees in this forest are about 80 inches tall. Any attempt to clear this forest and other riparian vegetation in the name of recurring floods will amount to plunder of natural resources,’’ he said.

The Major Irrigation department, on the other hand, maintains that the scope of the work does not include deepening of the river bed but removal of the silt deposit along a 1.8-km stretch between Poovathumood and Peroor to ease water flow. A preliminary analysis by the department has also found that around 30,000 cubic metres of sand and mud will have to be removed to ensure a standard width along the stretch.

Seeking public support

In view of the mounting protests by the greens, the Meenachil-Meenanthara-Kodoor river-relinking project, which is executing the restoration works, has also begun mobilising public opinion in support of the project. As part of it, it plans to organise a river restoration public meet on the river banks here on January 23.