After years of waste dumping, encroachments, and other human activities, Kuttamperoor river in Alappuzha died around 2005. However, the Major Irrigation Department took up the challenge to revive the 7.2 km tributary of Pampa and Achencoil rivers, and it has now been resurrected over a period of six years through public participation and government intervention. The department removed encroachments, deepened the channel, and constructed bunds on both sides, resulting in a 50-meter-wide rejuvenated river.
Once a lifeline for the region, Kuttamperoor  river provided water for drinking and irrigating large tracts of paddy fields and transporting goods, but it had been reduced to a drain that dried up wells in several places. The initial effort to revive the river was made in 2011, but it took another five years to get the project rolling. The efforts behind Kuttamperoor  river’s comeback to life are expected to inspire similar projects in future.