Children take up a cause

KOCHI: Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany had an interesting group of visitors on Tuesday—children below 12 years of age who are members of the United Friends Club. The aim of the visit was to screen a short film— Preserve the world For us— they had shot. The film highlights the need to protect the Perandoor Canal which was once used for transportation. The Mayor received his guests in his chamber. He watched the short film with the children and later interacted with them for more than 30 minutes.  "A joint effort of the civil society is needed to keep the Perandoor  Canal neat and clean. Though the cleaning work of the major canals had begun in February, the announcement of the Assembly polls affected the work. All the canals will be de-clogged before the onset of monsoon," the Mayor said.He congratulated the children for coming up with a short film based on a social issue. "The civic body will look into the possibilities of forming an expert committee which will conduct a feasibility study on the steps needed to regain the lost glory of Perandoor Canal.”“In order to make the canal suitable for water transportation, a joint effort from the part of various departments is necessary," the Mayor said. Deputy Mayor B Bhadra was also present on the occasion.The documentary, 'Preserve the world For Us' had earlier bagged the Halo of Honour Award at the Script 2011 festival held in Kochi recently.