The Mampuzha river, which is bouncing back to its past glory, will get a natural fence as the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management will plant bamboo seedlings on either side of the river, which had undergone much encroachment and pollution.
The Peruvayal grama panchayat authorities and the Mampuzha River Protection Committee will also team up with the CWRDM initiative to realise the green mission.
Scientists from the CWRDM said that it was one of the most effective and natural stabilisation methods, was less expensive and easy to implement.
Joint effort
The CWRDM takes up the project as it has been on the path of supporting the drive of the local people and various environmental organisations to save the waterbody from pollution and encroachments for the past several years.
For the completion of the project, it will make use of a special fund sanctioned from the local area development fund of Kunnamangalam MLA P.T.A. Rahim.
Initially, the bamboo saplings will be planted on a three-km stretch of the riverbank. Three species of bamboos — Dendrocalamus sikkimensis, Dedrocalamus brandisii and Bambusa balcooa — will be used for the natural fence.
Madhavan Komath, scientist and coordinator of the project, said they had already come into an agreement with the Kerala Forest Research Institute to make the required number of bamboo saplings available for the project. “We will be getting a seedling at Rs.50 from the institute,” he added.
To complete the planting process, the CWRDM and the panchayat authorities will make use of the support of workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
The CWRDM scientists said the planting process, which had a formal beginning on Wednesday, will be completed in two weeks.
