The drive to cleanup the Kodoor river, which remains choked with silt and thick sheets of water hyacinth, has entered the final lap with the authorities here on Monday beginning to restore the boat channel that starts from Kodimatha in Kottayam.
At a brief function held here, District Collector V.Vigneswari inaugurated the works and a public meeting held in connection with it. Speaking on the occasion, the Collector also extended the whole hearted support of the district administration to the Meenachil-Meenanthara-Kodoor river re-linking programme, a government-people collaborative that is executing the project.
The rapid proliferation of the water plant has forced the passenger boats to cut short their operation to the Kottayam town at Thiruvarppu. The move has affected hundreds of commuters including school students from the low-lying western interiors of the district .Besides the passengers services, these densely intertwined carpets have taken a toll on the tourism industry as well.
The local community, who eke out a living through fishing or clam collection, have almost stopped venturing into the waterbody due to the difficulty in navigating their canoe through the weeds. The transportation of agricultural labourers and drinking water to the isolated locations along the river banks here also remains a matter of concern in view of this explosion of water hyacinths.
According to K. Anil Kumar, convenor of the re-linking programme, the final lap of the cleaning drive will extend up to the Kottayam port at Nattakom.
“The drive, which covers a long stretch from Puthupally is being funded through local sponsorships and the works are coordinated by the local collectives along the river bank,” he said.
