The All Kerala River Protection Committee has welcomed the government decision to set up authorities for river protection. A State-level meeting of the committee recently suggested that such authorities need to have semi-judicial powers and that experts from the field and active river protection volunteers should be incorporated into the authorities.

The committee is organising webinars on the topic “The rights of rivers” from September 26 (International River Day) to September 3, the one week being observed as River Protection Week. Noted river protection activists in the country will be part of the webinar series. S. Ramachandran, president of the committee, presided over the meeting.