Restoration of Pazhukkanila river mouth in Kottayam is expected to bolster farming, tourism in the region
The Hindu
A long-pending proposal to deepen the waterbody and construct a ring road by strengthening the outer bunds is set to take off with the Kerala government including the project in its 100-day action plan
Faced with the prospects of a slow death, the scenic backwater system of Pazhukkanila in Kottayam district where the Kodoor and Meenachil rivers converge with the Vembanad lake, has now reset its aim to bolster farming and tourism prospects of the region.
The long-pending proposal to deepen the waterbody and construct a ring road by strengthening the outer bunds is set to take off with the State government including the project in its 100-day action plan. The project, proposed as part of the Meenachil-Meenanthara-Kodoor river relinking programme, envisages deepening of the lake by removing the silt accumulated on its bottom and constructing three ring roads by strengthening the outer bunds (dykes) of the three paddy polders on its bank.

Four persons were killed and three others sustained injuries in a fire that broke out in a five-storey building housing several manufacturing units in Rohini Sector 5, the police said on Wednesday. Sixteen fire tenders were rushed to the spot after the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call about the blaze at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday. However, due to the combustible material stored in the building, including plastic and clothes, and the narrow lanes leading up to it, which prevented fire engines that ran out of water from giving way to other rescue vehicles, it took the DFS over 12 hours to douse the flames.