KOTTAYAM: Nalumanikkatu, a wayside park where you can enjoy the evening breeze having delicious homely snacks and fresh fruits, has successfully completed a year now.The village roadside tourism project was launched to fight pollution at the Manarcad- Ettumanoor Bypass Road which had once been a dumping yard.Transforming it into a wonderland was not a cakewalk for the Manarcad- Ettumanoor Bypass Residents Association, remembered Dr Punnen Kurian Venkadathu, president of the association and the architect of the project. “The roadside was literally turned into a wastedumping ground.Our lives became miserable.We did many things like cleaning the area. But garbage from the towns was again dumped here. So we decided to come up with a permanent solution,” he said.The collective endeavour of the residents which was commenced with the technical support of the Tropical Institute of Ecological Sciences has become a big hit with hundreds of regular visitors. The food courts serving traditional items like kumbilappam, kozhukkatta, thiruvathira puzhukku and avalose podi, the mobile evening library and the energy-conserving solar streetlights are some of the featured attractions.Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the anniversary celebrations on Saturday.Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Rural Development Minister K C Joseph, District Collector Mini Antony and MP Jose K Mani will also be present for the function.
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