The district administration has taken an eco-friendly initiative to plant 25,000 saplings of bamboo and screw pine on either banks of the Pampa and its tributaries as part of a mission to check caving-in of the riverbanks.
An official meeting chaired by District Collector P.B.Noohu at the collectorate conference hall here on Thursday reviewed the arrangements being made by various local bodies for planting the saplings along the 72.8-km stretch of the banks of the Pampa that meanders through the district.
According to the Collector, the administration has taken up the project on the recommendations of the Legislative Committee on Environment and against the backdrop of the devastating deluge of August last.
Forest Minister K.Raju will inaugurate the project at an official function to be held on the Pampa banks at Cherukolpuzha on Friday afternoon.
He said there were reports of large-scale caving in of the Pampa banks during the deluge and the floods. The saplings have been brought from Kasaragod and it has already been distributed among the 18 grama panchayats so as to complete the planting process between 9 a.m. and 12 noon in all the 18 panchayats on Friday.
The grama panchayats of Kozhencherry, Aranmula, Chittar Naranammoozhy, Ranni-Pazhavangady, Ranni-Angady, Ranni, Mallappuzhasserry, Ranni-Perinad, Seethathodu, Vadasserikkara, Vechoochira, Ayroor, Thottappuzhasserry, Koipram, Eraviperoor, Malayalappuzha and Thannithode have made elaborate arrangements for planting the saplings.
Pits ready
The pits for planting the saplings have been prepared by workers attached to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Annapoornadevi, district panchayat president, and Veena George, MLA, also attended the meeting.