The Bharathapuzha river, the longest flowing river in Kerala flows (almost) to the brim all muddy and swirling amidst heavy rains during the Monsoons in June 2015. The river, known poetically as the Nila in Malayalam, has shaped the culture and ways of life of Valluvanadu (southern Malabar). But the Nila is in dire straits today, victim of human greed. Indiscriminate sand mining has eroded the river and is killing it. What looks like a patch of grass in the middle is actually a mini forest-sized group of tall shrubs growing on an embankment in the middle of the river, showing how much the river has been mauled and raped to satisfy the need for human “development”. However, nature stuck back and has leveled it once again! Taken from the Shoranur railway bridge.
