Green revolution from waste water

KOZHIKODE: More crops per drop. This is the slogan adopted by residents of the Malaparamba Housing Colony as part of their unique initiative to develop a vegetable garden that is irrigated almost entirely by waste water generated in the colony - an endeavour, which they claim, is the first of its kind in Kerala.The initiative is being organised under the guidance of the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) who are also supplying all the appliances and technical assistance required for the project. The project involves 300 select houses in the colony growing 4500 seeds in specially designed bio-degradable plastic bags. “The seeds are of a special hybrid variety and have been brought in from Bangalore. Plants of seven common vegetables including brinjal, ladies finger and tapioca will be grown.  The entire project will be irrigated by the waste water generated in the colony. We believe this unique initiative is the first of its kind in Kerala,’ said  Mathew Kattikkana, who is the president of the Malaparamba Housing Colony Allottees’ Association and also the chairman of the initiative’s core committee.A monitoring committee has also been formed, he said, which will oversee the programme and recommend technical details. The committee will be headed by CWRDM Training Education and Extension Division (TEED) head Kamalam Joseph and many CWRDM scientists will be part of this team, he added. “The basic training has already been imparted to the residents and the distribution of kits will take place within weeks. We are hoping to convince Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to visit us and officially launch our programme,” he said.Speaking about the project, CWRDM TEED head Kamalam Joseph said that the CWRDM was looking at it as an experiment. “We identified the Malaparamba Housing Colony because it faces an acute water shortage and it is important that they utilise every drop of water available to them. “Retrieving waste water here will be like producing it elsewhere. If the programme here is successful, I will present the model implemented here to the concerned officials and ministers and will recommend that it be implemented all over the state,” she said.