THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the public should realise the value of water and the initiative to protect and maintain water resources should start from them. He was speaking at the inaugural event of ‘Jalasangamam’ organised by Haritha Kerala Mission here on Thursday.“If we protect water, we can progress by leaps and bounds in agriculture. We are aiming to do so with the help of local self-government bodies. Even though the flood pulled us back a bit, we can get back on our feet and prosper,” he said.
Referring to his latest visit to the Netherlands and Switzerland, he spoke of the most modern means of waste management and also agriculture in brackish water. “These countries are using a disadvantage to their advantage and we will be able to do the same. I have seen the state of their rivers before and after they took the initiative to clean it up and it makes me confident that we can also achieve the same.
The state is also noticed on a national and global level for our work. It shows we are going in the right direction. We revived rivers and it helped during the flood, giving a pathway for the flood water. We are also undertaking initiatives to clean up the rivers with mass public participation which is a good sign,” he said. He also spoke about the special mention the ‘water shed’ project got from UN representatives during his visit.
“In Kerala, because we had a false start with Vilappilshala, people tend to believe that every waste management plant means stench that spreads for miles apart from dirt and diseases. However, I have witnessed waste management plants in the middle of the city in Switzerland with no smell and they are run smoothly. These are examples we can emulate,” he said. The event also had Ministers K Krishnankutty, A C Moideen, V S Sunilkumar and Kadannappally Ramachandran in attendance.