Move to conserve rivers in State makes no headway

Big promises are made on river protection day but they never materialise, say environmentalists. Every year, politicians and elected representatives announce massive programmes for river conservation. It was no different this year, with the authorities stressing the need to check indiscriminate exploitation of the natural resources. However, greens pointed out that there was very little effort from the part of the government to save the rivers. Says C.A. Vijayachandran, general secretary of Kerala Nadi Samrakshana Samithi: "Massive deforestation and unchecked mining of sand have altered the natural ecology of rivers. Encroachment has also become a major issue along the riverbanks. The authorities are yet to act despite repeated pleas from environmental groups". Agrees S. Sitaraman, secretary of Association for Environment Protection: "Let us take the case of Periyar river. The loss of green cover along the riverbanks has seriously affected the lifeline of the State's largest river".Quoting the Constitution, Mr. Vijayachandran says that it should be the duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, rivers, lakes and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. Environmentalists refer to the lack of a political will in saving the rivers from extinction. P.S. Gopinathan Nair, who has written several books on topics related to environment, urged the authorities to promote awareness programmes on river pollution. "We need to promote programmes involving the public in river conservation. Efforts should be also made to include the younger generation in such programmes," he says. The greens pointed out that various river conservation programmes were remaining on paper for want of support from authorities. They have now called for a concerted effort to establish river authorities that might help in checking pollution of rivers.

The Hindu, 7^th October 2008