Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Protest against draining of Kollumuri pond

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 2. A protest movement is gathering momentum at Madhavavilasam in the Kuzhivila ward against the unauthorised extraction of water from the Kollumuri pond by a fleet of tanker lorries supplying water to commercial institutions. Local people have sought the help of the city Corporation to protect the water-body.

According to local residents, the fleet operators had shifted their operation to the pond after newspaper reports highlighted the dangers of extracting water in large quantities from the Thettiyar canal on the eastern side of the Chacka-Kazhakootam National Highway bypass. They said the pond was being drained every night using high power pumps.

Fish farming

The Kollumuri pond which falls within the jurisdiction of the Corporation, was leased out for fish farming until recently. The pond water that helps maintain the groundwater table in the area during the summer is currently being used by local people for drinking, washing and bathing. Local people fear that the unchecked extraction of water would drain the pond and deplete groundwater sources, aggravating drought conditions.

Plea for action

A senior Corporation official said the residents had submitted a memorandum urging the local body to take stern action against the tanker lorry operators. He said the Corporation would submit a formal complaint to the police seeking intervention to check the illegal activity.

Simultaneously, the tanker lorry operators have also targeted the Thettiyar canal at a new location between Medanada and Thamburanmukku in the site earmarked for land acquisition to develop the Technopark campus.

The acquisition move had triggered a strong protest last year. The core issue which featured in the protest was the threat to the canal.

The extraction of water from the canal has already aggravated the drought situation in the region. Groundwater resources are heavily depleted, triggering acute water scarcity in the drought-prone areas of Poundukadavu, Pullukadu, Kuzhivila and Kalamukkanpara.

Saline intrusion

The rapid decline of water level in the canal threatens to destabilise the banks and cause salinity intrusion. Most of the wells have dried up since the pumping operations began over a month back. The situation has forced the Corporation to deploy its tanker lorries to reach drinking water from the city to the parched areas.

The Thettiyar canal, which once provided a lifeline for the farms, has dried up at many places. Most of the tributaries, which fed the paddy fields along both sides of the National Highway bypass from Kazhakkuttam, run dry during the summer.

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