At least 10 rivers and about 150 tanks have been revived across Kerala thanks to the collective effort of the local people. Volunteers cleaned up rivers, the canals that drew water from them and the ponds that played a key role in maintaining the water table. They cleared encroachments, demolished the structures that hampered water flow, and blocked the sewage pipes that were laid up to the water bodies.

The toil has paid rich dividends to the local communities. Thousands of acres of fallow paddy fields have become arable again and the newfound beauty has lifted many locales to the league of the famed tourist destinations in the state.

Perhaps the best known success story came from the Varattar river that runs through Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts. The people revived the river and even conducted a ceremonial boat race through it.

The energy sparked off a similar initiative in the Kolarayar River, and the effort resulted in a thousands springs in over 1,000 hectares of paddy fields. As many as seven paddy fields across two panchayats have benefited from the revival of the Varachal River. Fish farming has also benefited from the efforts.

The clean-up drive assumed massive proportions in places such as Kannur, where about 3,000 volunteers got their hands dirty to clean the Kanampuzha River of 10 kilometers of rubbish and stench in a single day in May. The area is tipped to receive a Rs 300 crore package including a riverside tourism circuit, history museum and a convention center.

An ambitious scheme to revive the linked rivers of Meenachil, Meenantharayar and Kodoorar in Kottayam district has been on for more than a month. The people are working hard to clear the adjoining canals in the conventional irrigation system. The revival of the network is expected to make 1,000 acres of fallow paddy fields arable.

The Kuttamperoorar River in Alappuzha had been virtually dead for about 25 years before a people’s initiative gave it a fresh lease of life. The people persisted in the face of repeated failures to revive the crucial link between the Pampa River and the Achankovilar River.

The same spirit was evident in Kozhikode district, where people volunteered to clean the 58.5 kilometer Punoor River and the 23 kilometer Mambuzha River. Even political parties offered their support to the initiative.

Rising water table

Residents of Madikkai in Kasaragod district were in for a pleasant surprise after they had joined forces to clean up the temple tank that belonged to the Mundott Nandapuram Gopalakrishna Temple. The dredging of the tank resulted in a rise of water levels in the wells in the area. The area had been hit by cruel droughts every summer.

People in Malappuram fished out tons of plastic waste as they cleaned the Valiyathodu canal in the town.

More projects are waiting to take off in different parts of Kerala. The cleaning of the Kattakkada, Machel and Anappad canals has already started in Thiruvananthapuram district. The Killiyar, Neyyar and Vamanapuram rivers as well as the Thettiyar canal near Technopark will also be cleaned soon.

As many as 115 public tanks have been cleaned up in 50 days last summer in Ernakulam district. The Pulamon canal in Kollam is being rejuvenated.

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