THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With schools, colleges and offices shut to contain the spread of the virus, people are trying to engage themselves in farming and other social activities.During the lockdown, Neerthadakam, a city-based NGO engaged in protecting the lakes along with the members of the KERA Residents Association, NGOs Swasthi Foundation and Kanthari and school students have joined hands to clean Vellayani lake.
As the lake faced threat from pollution and encroachment, the ‘Revive Vellayani’ project was launched last year by the city-based Swasthi Foundation, which was supported by the state tourism department. A 75-day programme to clean the lake was also planned under the project. “We have been engaged in cleaning the lake for the past few years. As part of the ‘Revive Vellayani’ project, the stretch from Vavvamoola to Punchakari was cleaned earlier with the support of the Swasthi Foundation.
Mechanised cleaning was also carried out to de-weed the lake which was infested with water hyacinths and molasses. Although the cleaning drive was being held regularly initially, it stopped in between. The weeds and waste dumped were choking the lake again and it was dying a slow death,” says Kiran A J, founder of Neerthadakam NGO.Kiran says: “Since it is the rainy season, molasses and weeds are growing at a faster pace choking the lake. Owing to the lockdown, most people are at home. So, we considered organising the lake cleaning drive. The residents are active participants.”
Every day from 6am to 8am, a 10-member team initiates the cleaning activity in Vellayani lake. Since the government has laid down precautionary measures to be followed due to the pandemic, the volunteers use gloves and facemasks while engaging in the cleaning drive. Also, social distancing is being followed. Kiran says: “We have already cleaned half of the lake and two loads of weeds and waste have been removed with the help of the residents. We plan to de-weed the lake completely by the end of this month.”