THIRUVANANTHAPURAM | Jan 19, 2017: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for developing a water consumption culture in the state to conserve water bodies.

“The state is heading for the worst drought in 100 years. The government is planning farsighted programmes to reclaim our water resources, some of which are in dangerous condition. Uncontrolled sand mining and waste disposal are the major threats faced by water bodies,” he said. Pinarayi was speaking after presenting the Green Humanist Award instituted by Australia’s multilingual newspaper ‘Indian Times’ to former Forest Minister Benoy Viswom.

The Chief Minister urged the public and NGOs to support the water conservation and the waste management programmes being planned by the government. The government also aims to increase rice and vegetable production, he said. Poet Sugathakumari said Benoy Viswom was quite eligible for the honour.

“He had a glorious stint as Forest Minister during which 55,000 acres of land was added to reserve forests, the Neelakurinji sanctuary was formed and tree conservation committees were formed for urban areas,” she said.

In his reply, Viswom opined that all those concerned about future should take a stand on environment conservation before it was too late. “Development is futile if it cannot ensure water availability. Capitalist development model brings only temporary gains,” he said.

(Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/)