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| Welcome Speech by Shri.James Varghese IAS, Principal Secretary |
The seminar on ‘Revival and Rejuvenation of Bharathapuzha River Basin’, organized by the State Level Nodal Agency of IWMP Kerala and Rural Development Department was conducted on 9th June, 2015 at Mascot Hotel, Thiruvananthapuram. The State Level Nodal Agency (SLNA) in its meeting held on 23.03.2015 had decided to launch a massive program to Rejuvenate Bharathapuzha with co-operation and integration of various government department, agencies, various schemes etc. The seminar is mainly intended to obtain valuable opinion from expert in the field of revival of dying rivers; especially from Dr. Rajendra Singh, the Magsaysay Award Winner to develop a strategy and protocol for the revival of Bharathapuzha to bring back its past glory.
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Inauguration by Sri. K.C. Joseph, Hon’ble Minister Rural Development
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Dr. Rajendra Singh, the well known water conservationist from Rajasthan
shared his experience in rejuvenating rivers of India, especially Arwari River
of Rajasthan. At the outset, Dr. Rajendra Singh recalled his
journey through the Bharathapuzha river basin in 2009 and experienced that the
basin is facing many challenges as if he faced in the revival of rivers in his
state Rajasthan. He had also suggested a four level solution for rejuvenation
of the River after analyzing and evaluating the present scenario of the basin and
is enlisted as follows:-
1. Utilization
of indigenous traditional wisdom and awareness creation among the community.
2. Conduct
a point to point journey along the basin with officials of concerned line
departments, elected representatives, school students, political leaders, activists,
and leaders of community based organizations and other stakeholders.
3. Rejuvenation
of existing water harvesting structures
4.
Ensure
community participation (Community/ Village level implementation strategy)
For achieving the four level solutions he had
suggested to follow the below steps:-
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Dr.
Rajendra Singh Sharing his Experience
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1. Analyze present situation of the river; exchange the knowledge among all
types of stakeholders and to decide location specific action plans.
2. Ensure community participation which is the key to success
3. An action plan for five years should be envisaged and developed.
4. The first six months should be devoted for awareness creation among
people.
5.
A detailed action plan should be prepared and get approved by
Gramasabhas.
The inaugural session is followed by technical session in which four
papers were presented viz.,
1. ‘Save Bharathapuzha – General perspective by Sri. K. V. Ramanujan
Thampi, Technical Expert, IWMP,
2. ‘Ground Water Condition in Bharathapuzha River Basin’ – Sri.
Thomas Scaria, Senior Hydrogeologist, Ground Water Department.
3. ‘Soil Erosion Hazards in Bharathapuzha River Basin’ – Dr. Anu Mary
Philip, Deputy Director (i/c) IWDMK
4. ‘Status Paper on Bharathapuzha River Basin’ – Sri. A. Nizamudeen,
Commissioner (i/c), KSLUB
