Once worshiped Illimalayar now a glorified waste bin

ALAPPUZHA: Thirty years ago this river was the lifeline of families, irrigating thousands of acres of farmlands in Chengannur.  Illimalayar, a 12-km tributary of Pamba which begins from Venmony, has now become a speck on its map thanks to the municipality's poor sewage management, widespread encroachments and absence of farming. The river people worshipped since it was one of the main tributaries of the holy river flowed touching Ala and Puliyoor panchayats and the heart of Chengannur town before joining Pamba. Surrounding 10,000 acres of paddy fields have now turned barren.

Now with the drought situation worsening people want a cleanup drive under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Pampa Parirakshana Samiti secretary N. K. Sukumaran Nair said the municipality was ensuring its death by turning the river, a source of freshwater fishes which farmers once used to transport their reaped crops, into a dump. Its retrieval came to the attention of local people after a five-km stretch of Kuttamperoor River, another tributary of Pamba, was cleaned up by Budhanoor panchayat, a few kilometres away, under the MGNREGS.

Panchayat Raj Act clearly says it’s responsibility of local bodies protect water bodies. But local administrations are scared of taking decisions against encroachers, letting them die. “What the ramifications of climate changes across the world teach us is we can’t go ahead without maintaining water bodies and nature,” said local environmentalist Praveen Sankaramangalam. "So we are planning a campaign to save this dying river."