River Resurrection: a Magnificent Success

Five years of combined efforts have brought the Kuttamperoor River to life in Kerala, India, with local community members being among the first to act: today, animals and humans alike can once more reap the benefits of a well-orchestrated river resurrection.

“Seven thousand workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme worked very hard for seventy days and finally succeeded in reviving the Kuttamperoor River [in Kerala],” explains India Primer Minister Narendra Modi.

In 2011, following six years of slow agony, the 6.5-km-long Kuttamperoor River became the object of an impressive undertaking to resurrect it. The restoration project took another five years to reach its full potential. The first step of removing trash and tangled weeds took two months and was accomplished by villagers. The Budhanoor village council, the Kerala state government, and other well-wishers joined to restore the river to its former glory. For example, when the river had been reduced to a drain of only 15 meters, locals contributed land for the restoration efforts, increasing the river’s width to about 50 meters. Today, thanks to its restoration, the river is, once again, home to several freshwater fish species, and the number of floods in the area could be reduced.