As many as 100 photographs of the Thevara-Perandoor Canal clicked by Kochi residents were displayed at Subash Bose Park in Kochi as part of 'Through the Historical Routes of Thevara-Perandoor Canal', an effort to instil in the public the need to protect and restore the waterway, once a vital artery of the city.
The six-day event was organised by the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-Hed), which is undertaking a restoration of the canal as part of the UNEP’s Generation Restoration Project.
One of the six major canals in Kochi, the Thevara-Perandoor waterway — which facilitated irrigation, transportation and fishing since the early 1900s — was a catalyst for the rapid urbanisation and expansion of communal life in the city.
Today, however, it lies enslaved to pollution, which has, in recent years, threatened its very existence. Several projects are currently underway to rejuvenate the 11.5-kilometre canal, with the C-Hed initiative being one of them.
At the exhibition, suggestions and recommendations from experts and stakeholders were displayed, each drawing up strategies for the conservation of the canal’s ecological and socio-cultural vectors and the development of its utilitarian aspects among others. A seminar discussing this was also held.
“The suggestions from experts include transforming urban areas around the canal into vibrant ecosystems, bringing people together. The idea is to transform the canal into a sustainable urban corridor by 2050 by integrating ecological restoration and water-based transit. These suggestions will be prepared as a plan to be implemented and submitted to the authorities," said a senior official with C-Hed.
The photo exhibition will conclude on Tuesday.