Students to the rescue of Vellayani Lake

Five students of Mannam Memorial Residential Higher Secondary School,
Neeramankara, submitted a report on their study on conservation of
Vellayani Lake to Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran
recently.The students, Deepthi J, Athira B.P., Jithin V.G., Anoop
Chandran B and Karthik P.R., who are members of the school Eco Club,
undertook the project titled 'Conservation of Vellayani Lake as a
drinking water source' to participate in the National Children's
Science Congress. They conducted surveys, interviews and experiments
of water quality of Vellayani Lake under the guidance of their
teacher, Jayasree. According to their project report, the analysis of
water samples from the lake, conducted at the Government Analyst's
Lab, indicated a high content of iron, ammonia and E-coli bacteria.The
students said that they observed an open drain directly discharging
waste into the lake near Bund Road.The lake is also polluted by runoff
from agricultural fields and nearby areas. Fish culture by the
Fisheries Department had also affected the natural biota of the lake
causing pollution, the students observed.Another factor degrading the
lake was constructional aspects and development works in the name of
tourism. Sand mining is also posing a threat of decrease of
groundwater recharge and increase of turbidity by intervening with the
natural filtering system, the report said. It has also been observed
that the area of the lake, which was 750 ha in 1962, had been reduced
to 397.5 ha by 2005.The students have suggested some solutions to put
an end to the quantitative and qualitative deterioration of the
lake.This includes conducting in-depth studies and preparing lake
conservation and management plans, demarcation of the lake to evacuate
illegal encroachers and sand miners and replacement of roads by
bridges.The project has also been selected for the State Children's
Science Fair.

The Hindu, 22nd November 2008