Second phase of campaign to clean Vaigai begins with clean-up drive

In the first phase, members of the Tamil Nadu Rivers Retrieval Project had undertaken field visits and formation of teams to undertake the work

The Tamil Nadu Rivers Retrieval Project has commenced its second phase of campaign to clean Vaigai river. As part of the project, members and volunteers engaged in mass cleaning of the river in Vandiyur in Madurai.

The Coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Rivers Retrieval Movement Gurusamy said that the project has been designed and planned for 10 years and the main objective of the project was to remove water hyacinth, garbage and other obstructions from Vaigai and to stop the direct discharge of pollutants into the river.

The project was being implemented with an aim to preserve the riverine environment and promote watershed management. As part of the Rivers Retrieval Project, Water Literacy Sessions and Formation of River Parliament Groups have been planned. The river cleaning field work with the participation of students commenced on October 4 with environmentalist Mr. Rajendra Singh, known as the Waterman of India, leading the work, he said.

A collaborative mechanism has been evolved to involve and integrate government departments, companies, educational institutions, industries, associations, clubs, youth groups, NGOs, panchayath raj institutions and other social groups in this initiative. The first phase of the 10-year project which commenced in 2023 included field visits and formation of field level working groups, he said.

In the second phase, the members and volunteers will engage in mass cleaning to remove plastic waste, thorny bushes and water hyacinth. As part of the project, awareness programmes will be conducted. There will be impact assessment and documentation of the works, he said adding, farmer-activists, Ashok Baliyan, Dharmendra Malik, V.M Singh and others were involved in the initiative.

Published - October 05, 2024 10:00 pm IST