Fresh lease of life for Kanampuzha

Kanampuzha is a river that today survives largely in people’s memories and is no longer what it was.

It once quietly flowed from its place of origin and passed through areas including parts of Kannur before it ended its journey in an estuary here.

The river has now been given a fresh lease of life by a mission to revive it as part of an initiative under the Haritha Keralam Mission. Ports Minister Ramachandran Kadannappally has taken personal interest in the river revival mission, as it has been highlighted as a constituency development project in the Kannur Assembly constituency, which he represents.

The campaign was flagged off at a function here on Sunday by Mr. Kadannappally and he joined a foot march along what used to be the bank of the river that started from Machery in the Mundery panchayat and ended in the Adikadalayi estuary here. The campaign to revive the Kanampuzha river envisages a massive voluntary work to clean the stretches of the river that have been turned into a waste dump. Over 5,000 people will volunteer on May 14 for the cleaning operation planned as part of the river revival plan.

“The voluntary work planned on May 14 will be an historic event as I have already received assurance from various groups of volunteers and local people that they will turn up for the task,” said the Minister. He said he had also received various proposals from the public during his foot march along the river on its revival. The proposals would be submitted to the Central and State governments for turning them in to projects, he said.

Kanampuzha river originates from Ayyappanmala, located 110 feet from the sea level, in Mundery panchayat. As a stream it flows through Mechery, Vattappoil, Peringalayi, Kappad and Thilannur before it passes through Elayavur, Thazhe Chovva and Kuruva in the Kannur Corporation limits.

“Kanampuzha used to be a major water resource that recharged groundwater in parts of this town and nearby areas,” said P.P. Babu Karakkatt, coordinator of the mission for reviving the river. The river, as it exists now, is filled with waste from Thazhe Chovva to Kuruva. The campaign would also include efforts to strengthen the stretch from Machery to Elayavur South and to revive paddy fields along its banks, he added.