The Hindu Business Line : Move to curb Pamba river pollution

REDUCING the level of pollution in rivers and preventing further pollution of these water bodies are among the major challenges confronting the State, according to Mr K.J. Mathew, Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department, Government of Kerala.

He made this observation while inaugurating a workshop on `Mitigation of Pamba river pollution: Options, strategies and responses' organised by the Thiruvananthapuram-based Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS).

The `Pamba Action Plan', which is intended to improve the quality of water in the Pamba river, is adopting a three-pronged strategy to cope with the pollution in this river.

While construction of sewage treatment plants along the course of the river would help bring down pollution levels, the flow of water in the river was expected to improve with the construction of check-dams. Efforts were also being made to sensitise people living in the vicinity of Pamba to the problems caused by pollution, Mr Mathew said.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Martin Foth, an engineer with InWEnt, an international capacity building organisation based in Germany, said he believed the workshop would throw up both technical and administrative solutions.

In fact, his team planned to discuss some new technical options for reducing pollution. These strategies could be incorporated into the next phase of the Pamba Action Plan. The key was to remember that prevention of pollution was better than cleaning up the problems caused by pollution, Mr Foth pointed out.

The three-day workshop, which has attracted participants from across the State, is being organised by CESS with the support of InWent and the Bremen State Office for Development Cooperation.

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