Engineering students, greens join hands to protect Kerala's Kottukal water resources

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An environmental revolution of sorts is brewing at the Kottukal grama panchayat near Vizhinjam. And bearing the torchlight is a group of engineering students and environmentalists. The movement centres around the land which was acquired for the Vizhinjam port project. A walk and a transit survey were organised by the greens and the scientific community to protect the region and preserve the perennial water resources in the area. And it doesn’t stop there.

A group of final year civil engineering students has decided to base their final year project on preparing an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study report on Kottukal.With no EIA being prepared to ascertain the feasibility of the land, the engineering students have voluntarily come forward to prepare an EIA report which they say will be submitted to the government.

“Several acres have been allocated without conducting an EIA. Ours is a movement to protect the land and the rich water resources here,” said social activist and a resident of Chappath L Pankajakshan.“Most of the people in the area aren’t aware of the grave environmental implications of this move. There are three watershed areas in Kottukal and one of it falls in the land allocated for the project,” he said. “We aren’t against any project. But it has to be done without affecting the perennial water resources in the area,” he added.

Two teams comprising five final year engineering students of College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, will prepare the EIA report. “Ours is an effort to prepare an alternate EIA report of the land and the same will be submitted to the government,” said S Gopikrishnan, a final year civil engineering student.

“We are all familiar with how flawed the EIA report on Oduchutupatuka was. The area was designated as arid while it was rich in bio diversity. I visited the proposed site for IMA’s biomedical waste treatment plant and understood the repercussions such flawed EIAs can have. These concerns led some of my batch mates to base the project on preparing an EIA report,” he said.

Jasir M C, another student, said “The impact on Kottukal owing to the Vizhinjam project is high and we are trying to prepare an EIA and study the land.” The walk titled  ‘Neerthada Nadatham’, which included the transit survey and environmental study, was held on Sunday.

‘Neerthada Nadatham’ flagged off

T’Puram: A study on watershed management in the Kottukal grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram was launched on Sunday. M Vincent MLA on Sunday flagged off ‘Neerthada Nadatham,’ a campaign organised by various organisations as part of studying the watershed ecology in the grama panchayat. 

The study will cover the challenges faced by the grama panchayat in tackling watershed management issues and suggest remedies. The event is being organised by the Kottukal grama panchayat and Santhigram in association with various agencies and organisations including the Sastra Sahitya Parishad and Centre for Environment and Development.

The march, ‘Neerthada Nadatham,’ was organised on Sunday as part of creating awareness about watershed management in the local people. The campaign was planned in view of the fact many of the water bodies and watershed areas in this panchayat, which are also the source of supply to nearby panchayats, are struggling to survive. V Harilal of the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad; A S Anil Kumar, professor of agronomy, Kerala Agricultural University; CED programme director T Sabu and CISSA general secretary C Suresh Kumar were among those present. College students, researchers and volunteers of Santhigram participated in the march.