KOCHI: Akin to a rivulet, Latha Anantha watered unknown shores and nurtured the seeds of conservation during her two decades of life as an activist. A spirited lady, she radiated energy into hundreds of people in many parts of the state giving a wake-up call for the conservation of rivers. “They are experts but belong to another class. But we have a ‘practical life’ to lead was the attitude of the common folk towards the environmentalists a few years ago.
The shift to the ‘practical life’ centred on profit made most of the ordinary people move away from the environmentalists till truth beckoned them in the form of climate change and drought,” said K Anil Kumar, coordinator of the project for rejoining Meenachil- Meenanthara and Kodoor rivers in Kottayam. “It was difficult to overcome the public psyche.
However, people like Latha took a constant stand against the public psyche, educating many on the importance of conserving ecology,” he said.Through a direct intervention on the Chalakkudy river, Latha showcased how this idea can be implemented and benefit both the river and society.
“It was a time when conservationists were mocked as ‘simhavalans’ (Lion-tailed macaque) for their fight against the Silent Valley project. The efforts by Latha were crucial in changing the perception that conservation is not merely centred on forests, but includes rivers as well. She could illustrate how the degeneration of a river ecosystem destroys the life around it.
The scientific base of her arguments nailed most of the counter-arguments,” said P Prasad, a frontline leader of the anti-airport agitation at Aranmula.
Hence, International Rivers, an NGO which is at the heart of the global struggle to protect rivers and the rights of communities that depend on river ecosystem stated: “In India, almost nobody has done more than Latha Anantha to help rivers get their flow back. That’s why we’re thrilled to name her our August River Guardian.”