Major push to ease water flow into Vembanad Lake as river restoration gains momentum

The ambitious initiative to make Kottayam district flood-free has entered a crucial phase with the commencement of works on the Meenachil-Meenanthara-Kodoor river relinking project, which involves clearing the river mouths that drain excess water into Vembanad Lake.

According to K. Anil Kumar, convener of the river re-linking programme, the river mouth at Vettikkad, near Thiruvarppu panchayat, has already been cleared. Work on the remaining five river mouths through which water from Kottayam town drains into the lake will begin in the next phase.

“Since the bed level of the backwaters is higher than that of the rivers, silt deposition at the river mouths has obstructed the natural outflow. Efforts are currently under way to remove blockages affecting water movement in the regions of Kavanar, Pennar, Kaippuzha Mutt, Kottathodu, Malarikkal and Pallam,’’ he said.

Among these, the removal of the sandbar, the principal obstruction in Pazhukkanila Kayal, will be undertaken by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). A tender for the ₹.103.72-crore project will be opened on February 28. Companies willing to extend CSR funding support for clearing blockages at other river mouths have also been approached.