Students express concern

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Paddy fields in our state are fast disappearing, giving way to concrete jungles. A lot has been said, written and discussed about the gravity of the situation. And the students of Carmel Girls Higher Secondary School too have expressed their angst and have ventured out to spread awareness about the need to preserve paddy fields. It was as part of their school project that students of the school - Lekshmi Raj, Aiswarya Shyam J, Akhila V Kumar and Bhavana H of Class X and Lekshmi S S of Class XI - set out to learn about the consequences of filling up paddy fields. Their area of study was the Kazhakkoottam and  Attipra areas. Pallipuram, once known to have plenty of paddy fields, is also a place where land-filling has been rampant.The students took a tour of the areas and interacted with the people, giving them awareness about the need to preserve the fields so as ensure the food security of Kerala. They compared the area which had paddy cultivation in 1998, then in 2003 and now in 2011. Most of the fields have disappeared. In fact, except Amballur, most areas which used to have paddy cultivation have opted to fill up the fields and construct houses/apartments there. Even in Amballur, the situation is not that encouraging as very soon the remaining fields here too would be devoured. There is no doubt that if things go at same pace, the coming generation will have to bear serious environmental consequences. As part of spreading their message against filling up paddy fields, the students distributed pamphlets stressing the importance of agriculture. The students were guided by their teacher Tissy Mary John and had the support of the school principal Sr Renita.The students propose to submit a report of their findings as a memorandum to the concerned Minister. Agricultural officers Deepthi Varadhan and Salin Thapasy and assistant director of Krishi Bhavan Girija Kumari gave all support and cooperation to the project.