A clean-up drive conducted last week under the banner of the Friends of Bharathapuzha in the catchment area of the Malampuzha reservoir resulted in the collection of a huge quantity of waste, posing serious questions about pollution of the Malampuzha waters.
About 50 bagful of waste was collected by the volunteers who took part in the drive held near Kava. The clean-up drive done for the first time in the dam’s catchment area in recent years has posed many questions about the daily inflow of tourists into the vast stretches of green open land.
Waste is increasingly being dumped in the reservoir in accordance with the recent increase in the arrival of domestic tourists in the backyards of Malampuzha. Although Malampuzha is one of the busiest tourist attractions in the State, very few visitors used to move into the catchment areas. With the popularisation of social media vlogging in recent times, there is a spurt in the inflow of tourists to the catchment areas.
Discarded plastic and liquor bottles and food wrappers can be found at several places as people illegally enter the catchment areas, especially when water recedes after the monsoon. The Malampuzha dam authorities say they have limitations in controlling the crowds.
Visitors reaching Kava through Ring Road take their vehicles to the catchment areas. Many people reach the area for photoshoot. But very few are aware that they have encroached into the reservoir that supplies drinking water for Palakkad municipality and its neighbouring panchayats. It is also the source of water for the Kanjikode industrial area.
“Serious measures are needed to end this pollution. It should not be allowed to worsen,” said V.K. Sreekandan, MP, inaugurating the clean-up drive. Rajan Chungath, environmental scientist, presided over the function.
The Friends of Bharathapuzha, headed by Metroman E. Sreedharan, organised the drive in association with the National Service Scheme unit of Mercy College, Palakkad East Rotary Club, and Transparent Academy.
Saji Joseph, who coordinated the drive for the Friends of Bharathapuzha, said the clean-up was part of the larger objective of the organisation to restore the Bharathapuzha and its tributaries to their past glory. A few weeks ago, the organisation had cleaned up the Kalpathy river.
