THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sight of Akkulam lake filled with weed and garbage can’t go unnoticed. While rejuvenation projects mooted by the government continue to lag, a few NGOs with the active participation of individuals and residents associations received a nod from the Minister of Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran, to go ahead with a proposal to clean the lake under the project ‘Mission Akkulam’ (Aarppo Akkulam Abhimanam).
“The lake is infested with medical and household waste dumped in the lake. Therefore, we wanted to rejuvenate the lake. The process which will be completed in three phases will begin on Friday,” said Abey George, general secretary and co-founder of Swasthi Foundation.
A detailed study to find rare bird species near the lake is expected to begin on Friday by bird watcher Rajesh Rajendran and photographer Babu Mathew. The socio-economic study will begin after Onam and de-weeding is scheduled to be inaugurated on October 2.
According to Dr Devin Prabhakar, ophthalmologist, who is part of the rejuvenation works, awareness is the most important factor. “Maintaining the lake is important. Those residing near the lake are the primary contributors of polluting the lake. We asked a few residents’ associations and flat associations to prevent the disposal of garbage in the lake. We contacted over 1,000 families. Garbage is disposed mostly between 8 pm to 5 am. Three residents will be allocated to inspect the area,” he said.
The project is being implemented under the aegis of SN United Mission, Swasthi Foundation, Kerala Chamber Of Commerce and Industry, TM Jacobs foundation and under the patronship of Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvati Bay.
Mission Akkulam
The process which will be completed in three phases will begin on Friday. A detailed study on birds by bird watcher Rajesh Rajendran and photographer Babu Mathew will be conducted. The project is under the patronship of Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvati Bay.