THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when the water resources in the state are under the threat of pollution, a big people’s movement is being organised to conserve and protect the water bodies in and around Kottukal panchayat in the outskirts of the capital.‘Neerthada Nadatham’ (March to conserve water), a movement led by people and scientific experts, will begin from Chappath near Vizhinjam at 8 am on Sunday and will conclude at Kottukal at 5 pm. Kovalam MLA M Vincent will inaugurate the march.
According to the organisers, the initiative to revive the water bodies will become a massive movement with the participation of more people. ‘Neerthada nadatham’ is aimed to conduct a survey on the environmental impact of the water resources once the Vizhinjam container transhipment terminal becomes a reality. However, they also pointed out that the people’s movement was not against the project and they were only concerned about the condition of the water.
“Kottukal is rich with water resources and the water from the panchayat is being used for various projects in Karumkulam, Poovar, Venganoor, Kanjiramkulam, Athiyannoor, Athiyannoor, Balaramapuram, Vizhinjam and Pallichal. However, the water bodies in the panchayat are facing various challenges in terms of pollution and degradation of biodiversity. Hence it is the responsibility of each resident of the village to conserve the water for their well-being,” said Ajith Venniyoor, director, Santhigram Environment Study Centre.
However, the organisers said that this programme would not be like a Killiyar mission project. “Our aim is not cleaning the water bodies. It would be a survey to identify the water resources in the Panchayat which could be affected once the Vizhinjam container transhipment terminal is materalised. So we will document after the survey process is completed. In the second stage, we will start awareness to the people of Kottukal village about the hazards of polluting the rich water resources”, added Ajith.
The movement will have the support from State Biodiversity Board, Western Ghats Protection Committee, Government Engineering College, Thiruvananthapuram and Santhigram Environment Study Centre. A total of 69 scientists including former director of JNTBGRI A G Pandurangan will take part in the movement.