The Hindu Business Line : Rivers as life-giving resources

LAST week Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Kerala Minister for Water Resources, announced that under no circumstances would the Government agree to the interlinking of the Pampa and Achancoil rivers to the Vypar in Tamil Nadu. Clarifying that the proposal was not for mere interlinking but for diversion of waters from Kerala's rivers, he stressed that "there is no question of the State allowing that." The Minister said Kerala had already lost water from five rivers to Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, the Kerala Nadi Samrakshana Samiti launched a campaign to remind people of the need to save rivers. Spurred by the increasing exploitation of rivers, the Samiti members urged the Government to take some urgent measures to reverse the trend.

According to a report from the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, the State's rivers are being increasingly polluted by industrial and domestic waste as well as pesticides and fertilizers. The State Environment Report, Kerala, 2005, cites the Periyar and Chaliyar as two cases of pollution of water bodies by industrial effluents.

Other rivers such as the Chalakudy, Periyar, Muvattupuzha, Meenachil, Pampa and the Achencoil are also far from healthy, mainly on account of bacteriological pollution. One important indication of this sorry state of affairs is the incidence of mass mortality of fishes. Such instances have been reported from the Periyar, Chitrapuzha, Chaliyar and the Kallada rivers and lakes such as Vembanad and Ashtamudi. Even radioactive wastes have been reported from these areas.

It is against this background that the State Government has approved a proposal for the formation of a river development authority and also announced the launch of a water conservation movement to ensure drinking water to 50 lakh people. The six-month-long water literacy programme and action plan will feature mass conventions on the banks of the Pampa, Bharatapuzha and Tejaswini rivers as well as large-scale testing of well water.

To implement the programme, committees have been formed to organize `kudumbasangamams' at the village level. In a grand finale of sorts, a pledge-taking on water conservation will also take place.

These are certainly noble intentions and are designed to recognize the primacy of rivers and the physical, chemical and biological processes within rivers, and the links between them.

Human activities such as river straightening and hydropower generation have prevented Kerala's total river network from remaining in a `near-natural' state.

Only an accurate and thorough assessment can lead to better understanding of the detrimental effects of industrial and other human-made activities.

That will then form the basis for the formulation of successful programmes to restore the ecological integrity of running waters.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page