On a mission to revive Rallavagu stream

Over 1,500 people clean nine of the 11 km course of the stream

Public representatives clearing the garbage at the Rallavagu stream in Mancherial on Monday.

Connecting people to nature. That is what the Mancherial district administration did on Monday as it observed World Environment Day with some unusual gusto.

A section of people, mainly public representatives, government employees, and police personnel, cleaned nine of the 11 km course of the Rallavagu stream that flows just outside the town.

“We involved over 1,500 people in cleaning up the stream bed which had considerable amount of litter and hypomia and prosophis weed obstructing its flow, apart from encroachments. The exercise, named

Rallavagu Rakshana , was initiated by Mancherial Collector R.V. Karnan and it took several weeks of planning,” said Mancherial District Forest Officer B. Prabhakar. The Salpalavagu stream, which originates in Kasipet mandal, and the Palavagu stream, which originates in Mandamarri mandal, converge at Mancherial to form the Rallavagu which drains into the Godavari after flowing for 11 km. The stream had shrunk in width and the demarcation of its boundaries was badly needed. Sanitation and cleaning was carried out in segments — quarry bridge to Gandharivanam, quarry road bridge to Amaraveerula Sthoopam, and Amaraveerula Sthoopam to Godavari river. Work on the remaining two kilometres would be taken up by wage seekers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNNREGA) on Tuesday.

“The few patches by the banks have been made fit for taking up plantation under the Telanganaku Haritha Haram programme,” Mr. Prabhakar said.

Among the public representatives who participated and extended help were Peddapally MP Balka Suman, Mancherial MLA N. Diwakar Rao, and Bellampalli MLA Durgam Chinnaiah, and Ramagundam Police Commissioner Vikram Jeet Duggal.