Saving our rivers, one at a time

Every time he passes along the Chaliyar, Brijesh Shaijal’s heart skips a beat. The love and passion he feels towards the mighty river — the lifeline for future generations — is that strong. “No one has the feeling that this is my river, our river. I want everyone to be responsible towards our water resources,” he says.
That is precisely why this Kozhikode-based architect, with the help of his friends, started the Clean River Initiative, which recently conducted the third successful annual Chaliyar River Challenge, which along with promoting water sports like kayaking, spreads awareness on river conservation.

With Limca record-holding kayaker Kaustub Khade and water sport promoter Kaushiq Kodithodika, Brijesh, who is also the chairman of the Kozhikode chapter of Indian Institute of Architects and the Greater Calicut Round Table, organised the Chaliyar River Challenge comprising a kayaking event, river conservation awareness classes, street plays and musical programmes.

“For long, our rivers have been highly polluted by industrial effluents and dumping of waste from cities. The kayakers, while paddling, would collect floating waste from the Chaliyar. It’s a completely eco-friendly event with only manual paddling boats and green products in use. The Challenge, which was attended by only a handful of kayakers in the first year, had 120 attendees this time,” he says.  

Apart from promoting sports and river conservation, there were activities like camping, bonfire and bonding over food with flea markets and restaurants taking part in it. “We are happy with the way things have turned out. The Challenge has now got the backing of the Kerala government. It is the DTPC that will conduct the event from next year onwards,” reveals Brijesh.

Now that Chaliyar is in safe hands, Brijesh plans to spread his activities southwards. His dreams now cover Kochi’s canal network, especially the historic Calvathy Canal that separates the colonial town Fort Kochi and market town Mattancherry.  

“It’s a plan similar to the Chaliyar Challenge. All these canals were used long back for transportation, but now, it’s sad to see the plight of the water sources as huge dump yards of the cities. Our plan to revive the age-old waterways is in the discussion stage. But once the true potential of the waterways is unleashed, it will change the whole face of Kerala tourism,” he stresses.

Though his dreams are inspirational and passionate, is it actually possible to clean a river completely? “Why not,” he asks? “There has to be a lot of studies on the logistics of the river. The floating waste can be collected and managed scientifically on the lines of Chaliyar fest. The pollutants mixed in the water can also be removed by adopting technical measures. But the most important aspect is awareness. When every person understands that it is their river, their lifeline, there need not be any other initiative. Hope that day comes soon,” says Brijesh, who wants to take it forward to the national level and help revive all dying rivers in the country.