KOCHI: Thuruthikkara in Mulanthuruthy panchayat, Ernakulam district, is the first green village in the state. Haritha Keralam Mission vice-chairperson and chief executive officer T. N. Seema made the declaration at a function held at the village on Tuesday. The village achieved this unique tag through the implementation of a series of green initiatives in various sectors such as waste management, energy efficiency and environment conservation.
The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishat in association with various agencies and political parties has been implementing various programmes in the village named Oorja Nirmala Haritha Gramam. The project, inaugurated in October last year, was successfully completed in three months. “What makes the project unique is its success in cultivating and implementing a new culture of waste management, energy efficiency, water security and scientific farming. The project will be a role model for the entire state,” said Ms Seema. The village had earlier achieved unique tags like plastic waste-free, e waste-free and filament-free.
The KSSP has been organising regular classes on various topics for all 349 families in the village with 1600 residents. To ensure quality and security of drinking water, experts from Cochin University of Science and Technology took water sample from wells in households. Training has also been given for villagers on checking water quality. The Oorja Nirmala Haritha Gramam project has been implemented with the support of various agencies such as Energy Management Centre Kerala, ANERT, Haritha Kerala Mission, Clean Kerala Mission, Suchitwa Mission, CUSAT, Model Engineering College, Thrikkakara, and the Integrated Rural Technology Centre.
During the culmination of the three-month- long initiative, a green biennale was also organised which exhibited models of green, clean and energy efficient houses. Vegetable seeds, saplings, grow bags, organic fertiliser, LED bulbs, kitchen bins, biobins, biogas plant, eco-friendly bags to replace plastic carry bags, solar water heater solar cooker and lighting system are being sold to the villagers.
