Eco group says such encroachments have become common
PATHANAMTHITTA: The Pampa Parirakshana Samiti (PPS), a Kozhencherry-based eco group that has been campaigning for the cause of river Pampa since the past 12 years, has called upon the Government to take immediate steps to remove all encroachments in the river `poromboke' in different parts of the State.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, PPS general secretary N.K. Sukumaran Nair said that the indiscriminate sand-mining over the past three decades has resulted in the formation of muddy islands in almost all the rivers in the State, especially in their mid-stream.
The lowering of riverbed owing to rampant sand mining has even altered the very course of many rivers. Incidents of people encroaching upon river `poromboke' have become common in almost all the rivers in the State, allegedly owing to the casual approach towards it by the Revenue, Water Resources and local body authorities, Mr Nair said.
He said that the encroachment in river Pampa at many places has also been contributing to river pollution.
The PPS leader said that Section 48-B of Indian Constitution has put the onus of protecting the forests, wildlife, rivers and other water sources on the Government.
Mr Nair said it was high time the Government constituted a special task force to demarcate the river `poromboke' and clear all encroachments in it in a time-bound manner, without any further delay, in the larger interests of protecting the rivers in the State.
He said that two-third of river Varattar, linking the rivers Pampa and Manimala, have already been encroached upon by local people, converting the river `poromboke' into farmlands over the past three decades.
The PPS leader alleged that the Pampa riverbed too has been encroached upon by private parties along many stretches.
The encroachment of river `poromboke' also contributed to pollution of the Pampa at certain parts, he alleged.
Mr. Nair said that demarcation of river `poromboke' in the Pampa river basin should be done in a time-bound manner, before undertaking any sort of construction work for river bank protection
