A challenge to restore Meenachil river’s beauty
The Hindu
Select locations along the riverbanks to be conserved through aesthetic planting, landscaping
A long expanse of lawn, where butterflies flutter around, goes down till the edge of the water that flows past the countryside. On the grassland, a vast array of trees and picnic groves are neatly lined up. This riverside locale on the foothills of the Western Ghats, which offers a fantastic view of a check-dam on the Kunnonni canal, near Poonjar Thekkekara, and beyond, is now setting the model for a unique challenge to restore the beauty of the Meenachil river in Kottayam. The challenge, named “Green shore, Beaming shore” (Haritabha Threeam, Abhimana Theeram), will take off to a start at four locations along the river’s course in June this year. According to Eby Emmanuel, general secretary of the Meenachil River Protection Committee, the initiative takes a cue from the experiences of Naalumanikattu, near Kottayam, and the Kunnonni canal beautification project that have helped check waste dumping in waterbodies.Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi founder and Chidambaram M.P., Thol. Thirumavalavan, on Friday recalled the arduous journey of steering the party through the transition from being a radical organisation whose slogan was ‘Adanga Maru, Aththu Meeru, Thimiri Ezhu, Thiruppi Adi’ (Don’t bow down, disobey, rise up and hit back) to become an important cog in the wheel of electoral politics in Tamil Nadu today as VCK, with four MLAs and two MPs, is set to be recognised by the Election Commission of India as a ‘state party’.
Amid strike by some Loco Pilots, Railways is trying to ensure undisrupted service: Palakkad Division
The Palakkad Division of Southern Railway on Friday, said it was making all efforts to keep trains running in time amid a section of Loco Pilots continuing to strike from work with a demand for a 46-hour periodical rest.
After completing her Class XII a few years ago, Lakshmi Priya from Sivakasi faced financial constraints that prevented her from pursuing higher education. Despite her circumstances, she persevered by folding matchboxes to earn a meagre income. “I have always done this work – folding matchboxes. Many families in Sivakasi and surrounding areas do this work, from home,” said Ms.Priya who is now 19 years old. “I always wanted to learn something related to Computer Science. We did not have a proper teacher for this particular subject at school. But I managed to score 95%,” she said.
Ahead of the southwest monsoon, the officials from multiple departments were directed to carry out the standard operating procedure and ensure that all the parameters were adhered to as per the guidelines issued by the Disaster Management Plan of the Tamil Nadu government, said Theni Collector R.V. Shajeevana here on Friday.