A report prepared by the Alappuzha district administration for the conservation of Vembanad Lake was submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by District Collector Alex Varghese on Friday.
The document includes a summary of the activities organised in the district under the aegis of the district administration and local self-government bodies, along with the recommendations submitted by expert committees for the rejuvenation of the lake.
Earlier, as part of the Vembanad Lake rejuvenation project, eight sub-committees were formed following a workshop that brought together political and cultural leaders, environmental scientists, farmers, fisherfolk, and representatives of local self-government institutions. The sub-committees — focusing on agriculture, biodiversity, sanitation, water resources, fishing, tourism, disaster mitigation, and revenue — submitted recommendations and project proposals for the conservation of the lake.
Reviewed suggestions
“The expert committee reviewed both short-term and long-term suggestions put forward by the sub-committees, after which the final report was submitted to the State government,” Mr. Varghese said.
The report includes major recommendations such as establishing bio-boundaries, protecting aquatic and other species facing extinction threats, controlling the growth of aquatic invasive species, setting up sewage treatment plants and faecal sludge treatment plants in the Kuttanad region.
Organic farming
It also suggests promoting organic farming on gradual basis, preparing a crop calendar, implementing integrated farming of paddy, fish, duck, and vegetables, adopting good agricultural practices, introducing climate resilient farming methods, supplying clean water to the lake through the Vadayar diversion project to control water pollution and salinity, establishing a Vembanad Wetland Interpretation Centre, and ensuring protection from floods caused by rainwater and tidal inflow.
As part of the Vembanad Lake rejuvenation project, 28.72 tonnes of plastic waste were collected and removed from the waterbody with the help of volunteers in recent months.
MLAs P.P. Chitharanjan, H. Salam, Thomas K. Thomas and others were present.
Published – April 11, 2025 09:14 pm IST
