While the restoration of Kallayi river is in disarray, another much-hyped project of the district administration - Mampuzha restoration - remains incomplete even after several years of setting it in motion. Officials say that although the survey to identify the encroachments along the 14 km-long Mampuzha has been completed, the land is yet to be taken over by the government. It was after demands and several protests from environmentalists and the Mampuzha Samrakshana Samithi that the administration decided to restore the lost tradition of the river and announced a survey as the initial step. “The survey had taken too long to complete. After its completion, the administration is now showing laxity in taking over the encroached land,” says T K Azeez, president, Mampuzha Samrakshana Samithi.
Mampuzha, which goes through three panchayats of Perumanna, Peruvayal and Olavanna, is facing serious environmental threats following increased waste dumping and encroachments for many years. Local residents say that the flow of the river has almost come to a standstill with little effort being taken to restore its ecology.
According to the Mampuzha Samrakshana Samithi, which is in the forefront of the restoration process, the administration has promised all help, including steps to receive central grants for the restoration of the river. They have also prepared a detailed project which includes proposal for starting inland navigation and tourism projects along the river, once the river is restored to its past glory. Meanwhile, the samithi members say that a separate project conceived by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) is being implemented for the ecological restoration of Mampuzha, but the dumping of waste remains unabated.
“The project is being implemented with the active participation of three panchayats - Olavanna, Perumanna and Peruvayal. But the situation is such that waste dumping continues unabated, hampering the entire efforts,” says Azeez. Officials with the CWRDM had earlier said that the main objectives of the project were to rejuvenate the river so as to restore its ecological integrity and to introduce better sanitation techniques at select locations of the panchayats in the Mampuzha basin with people’s participation. The project also proposes to monitor the water quality of the river basin during various phases of eco-restoration.
