Nemom block panchayat eyes technology tie-up to remove water hyacinth from Vellayani Lake

The Nemom block panchayat is eyeing a tie-up with the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) for removing the invasive water hyacinth from the Vellayani freshwater lake in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The proposal involves extracting fibres from water hyacinth for the manufacture of value-added products, which would serve as a means of livelihood for the economically-weaker sections in the locality.

The idea was mooted at the Block Innovation Cluster meeting held at the Centre for Human Resource Development, a regional centre of the Kerala Institute of Local Administration at Kottarakara, earlier this week. Though water hyacinth is a weed, the fibre extracted from it can be very useful as a natural fibre.

At the meeting, the Nemom block panchayat was entrusted with the task of coordinating the activity with technical support from the CSIR-NIIST.

A cottage industry based on the hyacinth fibres offers employment opportunities, especially women, according to the block panchayat. “Large-scale invasion of water hyacinth has been a major problem in the freshwater lake for years. Though the panchayat has had schemes in the past, a sustainable solution continues to remain elusive,” Ajaighosh P.R., Block Development Officer, Nemom, said.

R.S. Praveen Raj, senior principal scientist, represented the CSIR-NIIST at the block Innovation cluster meeting.

To extract the fibres, a technology called ‘closed retting’ has been proposed. It eliminates the pollution-related issues and produces good quality fibre in a short period. An added advantage is that it recovers biogas as an additional resource. Also, the waste material produced in this process can be used as a soil conditioner.