WE LACK CIVIC SENSE.THE BEST WAY IS TO EDUCATE HUMAN BEINGS ABOUT THE NATURE.

It really deserves appretiation ..i did read the whole article along with the comments .everyone has GREAT and COLOURFULl ideas on what needs to be done .. someone asks whats the panchayath doing ? someone else says wat are " so called politicians doing " ? someone else asks Should we preserve swarna river for the next generation ? .. we all are just playing the blame game ..

lets ask ourself " WHAT HAVE I DONE TO SAVE MY SWARNA RIVER ?? does anyone have an answer ?? no !!! blaming others and the panchayath is easy.. but doing it ourself is difficult !!.If we are so concerned then lets all get together and do something!! sitting in our AC cabins and commenting is real easy ... but getting down to reality is difficult .. I do not blame anyone else .. I agree that i am equally responsible for the pollution and i take the first step by saying I AM READY TO DEVOTE MY TIME AND ENERGY TO PROTECT MY SWARNA RIVER !!!!.

They just want their rubbish get out of their house, but would not worry about the consequences. it is vey strange that, even educated people too do this. we need to object it stongly...

let us save our swarna river.

I hope this will open the eyes of so called politicians of kemmannu.

This is also an open letter to Tonse Panchayath to set right its duty.

madhava rao

kemmannu

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The flow of River Swarna has been already blocked by nuber of bridges built using the drainage pipes. Most of the time water is stagnant between these bridges.

Now polluting this stagnant river will ultimately pollute our own source of drinking water i.e. house wells, in turn our own health and wellbeing. So its high time that we stop polluting and stop others from polluting the river.

Creating the awareness is key and Mr. Richard & Alex you have already taken the first step.

Alwyne Dsouza, UAE

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It is a sad sight to see our once pristine river banks filled with so much of garbage and waste. As always, plastic is the main culprit. Worldwide there is a campaign to ban plastic products. However, we have to yet get notice and change the way we manage our waste and the use of plastic.

Building of dams for the purpose of drinking water is one of the cause, which reduces the current of water flow at rainy season, resulting in garbage being stored at the river banks for a long time. Unscientific construction of minor bridges, using huge concrete pipes, instead of pillars also obstruct the flow the river water thereby resulting in slow water movement and stale water.

Improper waste disposal like waste from chicken stalls and dead animals also contribute towards the pollution. It is high time, we change ourselves and take the burden to make our river banks cleaner and bring them back to their original beauty.

Thomas Dsouza, kemmannu India

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Plastic is one of the few new age chemical materials which pose environmental problems.

As far as possible, we should stop using plastic and use biodegradable materials such as cotton carry bags, paper bags etc. It is unfortunate that even educated people totally disregard the ill effects of this necessary evil. There should be a blanket ban on using plastic carry bags and educate locals on the environmental aspects of improper disposal of waste.This should be a collective effort. Waste segregation and recycling should be part of the process.

This article by Richie and Alex should act as a wakeup call before it is too late for the reversal of the damage to our resourses.

Keep up the good work

Flavian Dsouza, India

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well done Rrichard crasto........

its a wake up call for panchayat and concerned authorities..Very importantly panchayat has to create an awareness within the society to keep our environment safe otherwise we are the loosers in the future............

and Im sure people who are in panchayat board who regularly visit kemmmannu.com and act on the issues which kemmannu faciing.

well done once again

regards

Prasanna, England

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Pecaution report and Photos against Swarna river Given by Mr.Richard Crasto and Mr.Alex Lewis are appraisable.

Every bag that's washed down a drain during rainfall ends up in the sea. every bag that’s blown into a river will most likely end up in the sea. Besides choking drains, plastics are highly toxics. When burned they release cancer-causing gases. Lying in the garbage, polythene bags also find their way in gut of cattle, asphyxiating the animals. The cheap bags contain chemicals such as cadmium- or lead- based chemicals that are harmful to health. They leach into vegetables, meat and food.

So the concern pepole of kemmannu take a strict action to prevent such a things in future.

Nelson Ajay Dsouza, Bahrain/Kemmannu

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Waste management is a joint exercise of both the panchayat board as well as the individual. However, if we follow this simple exercise we can resolve this problem. Household waste can be categorized as:

1.) Organic Waste.

All household food waste, agricultural waste, human and animal waste can be categorized as Organic waste. 90% of our Kemmennu residents are coconut farmers. This organic waste is an excellent source of energy to our soil and can be used as a fertilizer. Example: Between 4 coconut trees dig a pit of about 3 feet. Put all your organic waste in this pit. After about 10 days cover this pit with soil and move over to the next pit. If this is successfully implemented no other fertilizer would be required.

2.) Plastic.

This waste is an environmental disaster. The panchayat board should install garbage bins in every Kudru exclusively for plastic and should be responsible either to burn the plastic or dispose it to some plastic recyclers.

Residents who misuse the river should be heavily punished.

Jossy Saldanha,

Thane India

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Thanks to Richard and Alex for your efforts.

I understand this one of the real issue and the result may be disastrous if not checked in the initial stages. It is not only due to the laxity of interest by our civic adminstrators/ regulators/ local leaders, but due to lack of civic sence amongst us, the citizens. We prefer and feel preveledged by keeping the rest of the world clean and green but take things granted when it comes to our own country and native place. We feel preveledged to go abroad and take up any job and work rather than rendering same sercive at the place of our birth.

I agree with Mr. Thomas D' Souza as this problem is also due to ristrictions for the easy flow of water. We construct roads and buildings without respecting the nature. Instead of blaming others, let each one of us understand the problem and do our bit to spread the real civic sense so that the flora and Founa in and arround Swarna River is protected. Let the civic authorities too take up the cause and sincerely and attend to the civic needs.

Thus, well begun is half dun. So let all get on to our jobs.

N. P. Saldanha,

India

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A good article ……….. if we keep quiet it will create a lot of problems!

We know plastic is a non-degradable material and here it’s dumped on the banks of river SWARNA. This is going on since the last few years. The area/quantity of dumping is going on increasing day by day. The waste is being thrown here in the night hours. Since the place is near the road , it is difficult to judge the culprits.

Panchayath / Polititians are least bothered on this matter. They blame each other, rather than getting into action together (i.e, Paduthonse panchayath blaming Mooduthonse and vice versa, …. Even the polititians blame each other (though they work for the same party!).

Only awareness amongst the people can give better results. The Panchayath can come forward to collect the waste plastic/garbage at regular intervals and set up appropriate bins where necessary.

The flow of water is blocked by the temporary bunds which were created during the construction of the Padukudru-kemmannu bridge. After the construction of the above mentioned bridge the soil/mud which used for the bund were not cleared properly, I mean to say cleared up to the lower bed (deepest part) of the river. During low tide the water gets blocked by the bridge (bottom level of the opening used in the bridge) itself.

Blocked water has affected the entire eco system of our backwaters. Fishing from the banks of the river almost stopped due to non-availability of fish in the non flowing river.

It was clear water during rainy days and was salty in the other period. I remember during the summer whrn people used to swim in the backwaters of river swarna, now the water is stand still and it is giving foul smell and no one dares to go near the river !

This is a small step taken by kemmannu.com, I ask the readers whether the beauty of the river can ever be regained. Should we preserve swarna river for the next generation? Or make it an dirty pool ? Think a little, write a little because if everyone of us go blaming others, who will be the losers in the end ???

All your opinions will be forwarded to the leaders.

Braan

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A good article has attracted the best of feedbacks and comments, which are constructive.

Waste reminds me of the occasional human dead bodies floating at the Swarna River at my childhood days. People used to take a long bamboo pole (Jalla) and push the bodies from their part of the river bank (Kadu) to the next. The next moment the man next door used to do the same and dead body was traveling up and down until it perished. Our attitude has not changed over the years and remained the same.

I recollect an incident occurred at the last rainy season. One gentleman on a heavy rainy day, at knee deep water was desperately trying to clean the waterlogged drains at Hampankatte on Kemmannu road. He was trying to save his mud built compound wall which was at the verge of collapse. I noticed him while going up and down but remained indifferent. Finally in the afternoon, while coming back from a function, I found him still working. Seeing his plight I volunteered to join him and find the cause of blockage. At best of my attire, holding a bamboo we went towards the inner cross part of the drain. To our horror, we found three old suitcases, all filled with old cloths thrown just beyond the entrance of the drain. Certainly brought by vehicle by outsiders and disposed there. Just imagine the weight of the water filled suitcases with cloths. Finally we cleared the drain and saved his compound wall. No wonder my wife refused me entry to my house, when I returned thinking that I am a municipality worker, until I identified who I am.

Easier said than done. Things will remain the same until we stop throwing our garbage at our neighbors’ door and feel happy that our door is clean. As for panchyat members, the less said is better. They are as good as we are. As suggested by many of our viewers, until ‘Plastickassura’ is banned, let us remain skeptic.

Thomas Dsouza, Kemmannu

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Very sad to see people destroy themselves by polluting rivers.

The curse of Mother Nature is an adverse affect deceases such as cancer, epidemics, pandemics global warming and natural calamities.

People of the region must act now by lodging a complaint to the police station to take action against those who have created environmental hazard and they be brought to justice.

Suvarna river that flows through most of Udupi region and it is the home of our home minister Acharya and MLA Bhat if they are aware of this they will surely never allow Suvarna river to be spifflicated

Sunil P. India

Pollution If this is the innocence of some individuals that they dump waste in this river NGO's social workers and common people of Kemmannu have every right to submit their grievance and bring the guilty to justice. Whoever Person found to be the cause of pollution, may be liable for punishment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or both (Sec 15, 16, 17). If not comply fine of Rs. 5000 per day extra, still if not comply for more than one year, then imprisonment may extend up to 7 years.

Contaminated and polluted water now kills more people than all forms of violence including wars, according to a United Nations report released on March 22, 2010 on World Water Day that calls for turning unsanitary wastewater into an environmentally safe economic resource. According to the report -- titled "Sick Water?" -- 90 percent of wastewater discharged daily in developing countries is untreated, contributing to the deaths of some 2.2 million people a year from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene. At least 1.8 million children younger than 5 die every year from water-related diseases.

Fully 80 percent of urban waste in India ends up in the country's rivers, and unchecked urban growth across the country combined with poor government oversight means the problem is only getting worse. A growing number of bodies of water in India are unfit for human use,

WHO estimates that 24 per cent of global disease burden and 23 per cent of all deaths can be attributed to environmental factors. The burden is more on the developing than the developed countries.” He said: “In developing countries, an estimated 42 per cent of acute lower respiratory infections are caused by environmental factors.”

The major burden of these hazards is borne by the lungs. Bronchial asthma and other allergies; chronic obstructive lung disease, respiratory infections including tuberculosis and occupational lung diseases are some of the common problems with a strong environmental risk which, account for a large disease burden all over the world, including in India. “There is a need for extensive studies to gauge the effects of environmental factors on the human health.”