The massive flood in mid-August has wreaked havoc on all rivers and their banks in the State. However, the end result of the flood was a pleasant surprise for those residing along the rivers Chaliyar and Iruvazhinji in Kozhikode. The rivers have claimed back all the encroachments and left their banks more accessible to the public.
“The river has cleansed itself. We only have to do the rest,” said Mohammed Salih, convener of the Theyyathumkadavu Samrakshana Samiti that has launched a campaign to reclaim the old glory of the Iruvazhinji river in a systematic manner.
“We noticed that most of the pollutants that were found in the river earlier have been washed away in the flood and that the natural bathing ghats have resurfaced. It was the best time to reclaim the river,” Mr. Salih said.
In the first phase of the campaign on Sunday, the volunteers of the Samiti removed all those bits of plastic remaining on the tree branches and stuck on the shrubs to complete the cleansing of the river. They cleaned the stretch of the river between Kodiyathur grama panchayat and Theyyathumkadavu on around 10 boats. The garbage collected, mainly plastic, is being sent to the recycling units.
The volunteers completed the clean-up drive with a mass bath at Theyyathumkadavu.
“It was an attempt to promote the use of the river for bathing among the general public, especially the youth, who have become alien to the river culture,” Mr. Salih said.
In the second phase, the samiti plans to protect the existing bathing ghats and to build new ones wherever possible.
Meanwhile, the elevated banks will be protected using a bio-wall so that they do not collapse in future. The cleaning drive will continue next week.