The Hindu Business Line : Removal of weeds from Kerala inland waterways urged

EXPERTS at a seminar here have suggested scientific removal of weeds like water hyacinth from canals and rivers for smooth transportation of cargo through the inland waterways of the State.

It was pointed out that several stretches in the waterways are faced with the problem of infestation of weeds causing hindrance to motorised and country boats carrying cargo along the canals.

Removal of such weeds have to be carried out in a proper way since the plants have the capacity to absorb many heavy metals and other water pollutants, said Mr P.S. Harikumar and Mr K. Madhavan from the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kozhikode.

Water hyacinth is widely distributed all over the country in rivers, lakes, ponds, marshy places etc.

The level of biomass accumulation will determine its nuisance value and the impact of water quality.

Unless dredging is properly carried out and disposal of contaminated sediments are appropriately managed, it could adversely affect water quality or aquatic or terrestrial organisms, they said in a paper.

They pointed out that excessive infestation by the weed could severely constrain human activities affecting access to water navigation, irrigation and fishing activities.

Water hyacinth multiplies rapidly in stagnant backwaters and at times occupies the entire water surface from bank to bank stretching over distances as long as 2 to 4 km along the canal course.

The metal content of water hyacinth are present in the inland navigation canals of Kuttanad, Changanassery and Kottayam-Vaikom routes.

The samples analysed from 12 locations in the Alappuzha-Changanassery and Alappuzha- Kottayam stretches revealed the presence of heavy metals like iron, manganese, copper chromium, zinc, lead etc.

The report on the case study undertaken on determining the quality of water and sediment samples along a proposed waterway between Kottayam-Alappuzha found that water and sediment samples near the urban agriculture areas are polluted.

Thus preventive measures are necessary before developing the water bodies for an unhindered movement of inland navigation.

The measures suggested included periodic removal of sediments, proper solid waste management, controlled release of flooded water from the agriculture fields into water bodies etc.

Kerala has a continuous chain of lagoons and backwaters separated from the coastline. For many years, these water bodies and lagoons have been used for transportation through an artificial network of canals.

However, these waterways are now rendered unserviceable in many parts for want of proper maintenance.

Side erosion and silting had not only reduced the effective depths of water but also caused considerable reduction in traffic.

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