The Friends of Bharathapuzha, an organisation working towards the conservation of the Bharathapuzha in Palakkad district, organised a mass run on Sunday to spread awareness among the public about the importance of protecting the river.
The Palakkad chapter of the forum joined hands with the Fort Runners of Palakkad and staged the event named Run for Bharatapuzha. The run began on the premises of the main temple of Kalpathy and covered areas such as Old Kalpathy, Silverline Colony, Sai Hospital Junction, Neelikadu, Andimadom, Kadukkankummam, Mattumantha, Valiyapadam, Manalmantha, Vaidyanathapuram, and Govindarajapuram.
Support from Muscat
As three dozen conservationists from different walks of life came together spreading awareness about the importance of conserving the Bharathapuzha, Malayalis belonging to a running group named KTMMR took out a run in Muscat to express solidarity with the cause.
“The Bharathapuzha is the lifeline of Palakkad, Malappuram and Thrissur districts. The region’s water requirement is met largely by the Bharathapuzha. So the conservation of the river has become the need of the hour,” said V.L. Natarajan, a senior member of the Friends of Bharathapuzha.
C.D. Sreenivasan, Dy.SP (Narcotics wing), flagged off the run. The Friends of Bharathapuzha is functioning under the patronage of E. Sreedharan, former Principal Advisor to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. He has been leading the conservation activities of the river under the banner of the forum since he gave shape to it in 2019.
Steady decline
“There has been a steady degradation of the river with encroachments on both sides, uncontrolled dumping of waste, flow of drainage and waste water, unauthorized sand-mining and growth of trees, bushes, weeds, algae and hyacinth,” said Mr. Natarajan.
