KOZHIKODE: A group of environment lovers representing Kallayi river protection committee took out a river journey or Puzhya yatra in several small boats on Friday to raise their voice against the failure of the Government in protecting this river that once marked the district’s culture. The major demands raised by the members are to revive the past glory of the river, allow the river to flow freely, resolve the issues faced in the fishing area, free the river from untreated effluents, stop dumping of hospital waste, dumping of untreated waste from septic tanks and stop the infestation of weeds.
“Rs 35 crore was sanctioned for de-silting the Canolly Canal, mainly the stretch which is near the Kallayi River and also the then Government announced the reclamation of encroached lands and ensuring future conservation”, KPU Ali, Chairman of Kallayi river protection committee, said. But this money lapsed due to the negligence of changing Governments. NK Premachandran, the then minister for water resource, sanctioned these projects which have failed to take off, he added. “We will also urge the Government to take immediate action against the encroachment of riverbanks for various purposes including construction of buildings and dumping of waste directly into the river,” he added.
