The Konothupuzha river does not seem to be able to catch a break. The waterbody, smothered by waste and weeds, is a victim of long delays that have prevented projects to revive it from taking off.
Work on cleaning the 17-km-long waterbody began in August last year, and it witnessed an inauguration of sorts. But work came to a standstill a few weeks later, since funds had not been sanctioned, said an official of the Minor Irrigation Department. With a small amount that had been sanctioned for an excavator, work began on clearing some weeds, but the department is still awaiting additional funds, the official added.
The project to clean and desilt the river, remove obstructions to the flow of water, and put up earthen bunds on either side is expected to cost ₹17 crore. Along with the reconstruction of two bridges, the total project estimate was around ₹20 crore, an amount that is yet to be sanctioned by the State government.
The river will, however, get a regulator worth ₹23 crore soon, to keep saline water out, said an official of the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation, which has taken up the project funded by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). Work on the regulator will begin in February and is to be completed in 18 months.
The existing regulator has remained in shambles for years, and the salinity of water has destroyed rice fields along the river banks, said K.P. Varghese, secretary of Manakkunam Village Padasekhara Samrakshana Samiti, which had filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2017 on the sorry state of the river. “A regulator will only resolve part of the problems, he added. Unscientific construction of bridges along the river has obstructed the flow of water,” he added.
Mr. Varghese was part of the team from the Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishat (KSSP) that studied the river in 2006-07 and prepared a report.
The river lies between the Champakkara canal and the Vembanad lake and runs through the Thripunithura Municipality and Chottanikkara, Mulanthuruthy, Udayamperoor and Amballoor grama panchayats. These local bodies had paid a total of ₹17 lakh for a survey to demarcate the boundary of the river.
A revenue official said the survey along the boundaries to identify poramboke land and encroachments was under way. “The team of surveyors began work three months ago. But parts of the area have been inaccessible owing to the undergrowth,” the official added.
In August last year, the NGT had ordered that a committee be formed with the District Collector, representatives of the State Pollution Control Board and officials of the municipality and grama panchayats, to come up with an action plan to deal with the pollution of the river.
It was in accordance with this proposal that a decision was taken to begin with the survey first and fix the boundaries, said the Minor Irrigation Department official.
The river, however, awaits redemption. The water, clogged with waste, is unfit for use, whether for drinking or for irrigation, leading to shortage of water in panchayats along the river, Mr. Varghese said.
