KOCHI: A nine-year-old girl’s concern over the future of a river, which flows near her house at Eroor, has gained attention after she send a letter to the chief minister explaining the existential threat faced by Kaniyampuzha river due to waste dumping.
Based on the letter written by Anlina Aju, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the district collector to address the grievances raised by the girl. On Saturday morning, collector Jafar Malik along with irrigation officials visited Anlina and told her that steps would be taken to prevent waste dumping in the river.
Anlina, who used to take photographs of birds that visit Kaniyampuzha river, noticed waste dumping plaguing the river and posing a threat to its very existence. She noticed that the number of birds visiting the river had come down when the water got more polluted. She captured the images of pollution on her camera.
“Earlier the river was beautiful with a lot of birds, butterflies and cranes visiting it. But people started to dump waste in the river. This caused great pain, forcing me to write a letter to the chief minister to bring his attention to the menace,” said Anlina, daughter of Aan Mary James and naval officer Aju Paul. A fourth standard student of Naval Children’s School, Anlina attached photographs that she took which depict the pollution of the river, along with the letter to the chief minister. Anlina showed the photographs to the collector and explained about the waste dumping issues in the river.
The collector entrusted Tripunithura municipality secretary and irrigation department to submit a report after identifying points where waste is dumped in the river. The collector said a campaign will be conducted with the participation of school and college students.
Anlina is a recipient of the state government’s Ujwala Balyam Award in 2020.
