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| T.N.N.Bhattathirippad, Vellarakkad House, Kadangod, Thrissur |
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It was an exhortation by the UN in 1981 that changed the course of T.N.N.Bhattathirippad’s meandering thoughts. Bhattathirippad, an engineer in Kerala Water Authority, had just read that the UN had declared the decade 1981-90 as the World Water Decade. Curious, he wrote to them to clarify what the objectives and goals were.
The interesting reply from UN urged him to take up awareness programmes about water literacy. Since then, Bhattathirippad has been going about in official and non-Governmental capacity to spread the word about need and means to make water available universally to all.
He met the 90-year-old veteran of water resources of Kerala, retired Chief Engineer P.H.Vaidyanathan. The nonagenarian’s advice was simple: if at least some of the vast quantity of water flowing through rivers into the sea is retained, the scarcity of water can be overcome to a large extent. And he suggested check dam as a means to that end.
Accepting the advice, Bhattathirippad organised local people of Parali to construct the 1st temporary check dam across Bharathappuzha using sandbags. Although the structure was not watertight, it pointed to the potential of check dams. Later, with the aid of Rajiv Gandhi Mission, he was able to bring to fruition, the 180 m long and 2.5m high bund, which dutifully released a few villages of the area from the clutches of drought.
Even when the constructional interventions continued at Lakkidi-Thiruvilvamala and Irimbramchola for providing drinking water, he was becoming aware of the need to create mass awareness about water in general and check dams and subsurface dams in particular. He started writing regularly in newspapers and periodicals on these topics.
After graduation in Engineering, Bhattathirippad had joined Kerala Public Health Engineering Department in 1965. He worked in various capacities from Junior Engineer to Chief Engineer and retired from service in 1996. After retirement he is even busier, spreading the warning about the need to conserve the much precious commodity called water.
Courtesy: C.A.Krishnan, Kerala Kaumudi, June 14
Contributed by: Administrator
