Volunteers from Almora out to save Kosi river

BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, January 18

To make the Kosi river, lifeline of Almora town, perennial and clean, a group of volunteers from Almora town today reached Kantli, Tyunsal and Someshwar villages in the Takula block and made the villagers aware of the receding water level of the river and its consequences on the life of residents of the region.

Over 24 volunteers held meetings in almost all villages on their entourage from Kantli to Someshwar and persuaded villagers that until they start harvesting rainwater and plant saplings to increase level of groundwater, the water level of the river could not be increased. “This is the fourth phase of our ‘Aviral, Nirmal Kosi Jal Abhiyan’, which began four months ago,” said Navin Bisht, coordinator of the campaign.

According to the volunteers, the campaign was initiated after a research done by Dr JS Rawat, a professor on the Almora campus of Kumaon University, on the receding water level of the river. He forecast that if sufficient efforts were not made to preserve the catchment areas of the river, it would die after some years. “Dr Rawat is guiding the campaigning technically in their effort to increase the water level of the Koshi and make it a perennial river,” said Bisht.

They say the campaign will continue in future as well and they will remove obstructions in way of the river by making people aware of the effects of its falling water level. “We have plans to travel up to last village that is in the basin area of the river to make the villagers aware of its future,” said Bisht.