A unique experiment to recharge the Kabani river and rescue drought-hit villages on its banks on the Kerala-Karnataka border by using water from the Karapuzha reservoir has turned out to be a huge success.
When the residents of Mullankolly and Pulpally grama panchayats on the Kerala-Karnataka border faced acute drinking water shortage after the Kabani dried out, the civic bodies with the support of the public and various organisations constructed a temporary check dam across the river. The sharp drop in inflow of water had adversely affected the operation of pumping stations in many local bodies.
Meanwhile, the District Disaster Management Authority directed the Water Resources department to release water from the Karapuzha reservoir to tackle the issue in the region on an experimental basis.
