It was a network of waterways that played a pivotal role in the socio-economic life the people of the area — a network linked to the ebbs and flows of the Meenachil river. A network with the centrality of the Meenanthara river, which showed the characteristics of an independent river on certain stretches and that of a tributary on others. However, with the shift in the mode of transport from water to road, land filling and encroachments, the river’s import diminished.
Now local people and environmental organisations are joining hands to rejuvenate the Meenanthara river and its offshoots in an effort to revive the riverine social life.
Says Gopu Nattassery, head of the Green Community who is coordinating the effort: “The network of rivulets has almost ceased to exist as they are contaminated with industrial and municipal waste and filled with weeds. The degeneration of the river has impacted cultivation in more than 1,000 acres of paddy fields in Vadavathoor. It has also led to disuse of thousands of open wells. The Meenathara river was once a rich breeding ground for indigenous fish varieties.”
Another rivulet that starts from the Meenanthara river at Natassery and moving to Kanjikkuzhi to join the Kodoor river at Manganam, which has historical value, would also have to be revived, said T.P. Rajiv, convener of Kottayam Nattukoottam, an activist group. “The waterway was developed during the reign of the Tekkumkoor Rajas to travel from Kumaranalloor to Thengana near Changanassery,” he said. This was expanded when Sir T. Madhav Rao was the Diwan Peshkar of the division during the Travancore period.
The rivulet which commences from Arumanoor and travels through Ayarkunnam, Amayannur, Manarcadu and joins the Meenanthara river at Vadavathur is also in dire need for revival, he added.
Flooding
He said the revival of the riparian system would help tackle the flooding of Kottayam town and vicinity during monsoon. It would also lead to revival of the agrarian life in the area.
Jacob George, president, Green Fraternity Kerala, the organisation spearheading the efforts, said the river system is on its deathbed. It would be asphyxiated in a few years if corrective steps are not taken immediately. “Fish forms have died or left the rivers, birds have flown away and frog croaks have come to an abrupt end. Most life forms have deserted the riverbanks.”
The NGOs have organised a workshop for the purpose in Kottayam on August 28. The next step in the revival project would be finalised at the workshop.