PAMPA RIVER CRIES OUT FOR
CONSERVATION
The degradation of the Pampa, the second largest river in the
State, appears to be a topic less talked about in recent times.Negligence on
the part of successive governments towards conservation of this once vibrant
river system with as many as 300 tributaries is very much evident from the fast
depleting water level soon after the rainy season. Experts attribute this to
the indiscriminate sand collection from the riverbed, leading to increased
velocity of water flow and loss of water-holding capacity of the riverbed.Rampant
sand collection has lowered the riverbed even below the mean sea level and
salinity intrusion has been reported beyond Kozhencherry, leaving many
varieties of freshwater fishes extinct.
N.K. Sukumaran Nair, general secretary of the Pampa Parirakshana
Samiti, told The
Hindu that various studies
conducted by the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) had found
the algal and benthic biomass and diversity generally low in many stretches of
the river.Mr. Nair said not less than 30 fish species in the Pampa had been
listed as threatened, of which five belonged to the endangered group.The Pampa
is the lifeline of the districts of Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Alappuzha,
which include Kuttanad and Upper Kutanad. Not less than five million people
depend on the river for their domestic water needs.Mr. Nair said studies
conducted by the Centre for Earth Science Studies revealed that the Pampa
riverbed had already gone down by five to six metres from the level 20 years
ago.Flow of all sorts of filth, including human excreta from the toilet blocks
at Sabarimala, markets and towns on the river banks, into the Pampa, has been
identified a major source of river pollution.
Though the Union government had included the Pampa in the
National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) way back in 2003, the Rs.320-crore
Pampa Action Plan envisaged as part of the project failed at the implementation
level, said Thomas P. Thomas, botanist and environmentalist.The scorching sun
has turned dry almost all rivulets leading to the Pampa.The failure of the
authorities to check the callous dumping of waste had converted it into a pool
of filth at many places, Dr. Thomas said. He said it was high time that schemes
to conserve the Pampa were implemented.
Prof. John Kurakar
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