Prince Charles supports Indian river cleaning project

London, Feb 23: Prince Charles, Britain’s heir to the throne, has offered support to a British government initiative for a major urban development project in Aluva, the industrial capital of the south Indian state of Kerala. The British Department for International Development (DFID)-funded multi-million pound project includes the purification of the Periyar river, popularly known as the Southern Ganges, besides waste management and a congestion free road traffic system. The project will be implemented with the support of WS Atkins and INTBAU, Asian Lite newspaper reported. The new Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to clean several major rivers in India including the Ganga and the Yamuna. Most of the Indian rivers are heavily polluted with industrial wastes and fast growing urbanisation is also threatening the very existence of rivers. The British prince granted a private meeting to a delegation from Aluva to get an update on the master plan and project development. The prince visited Aluva and stayed at the historic summer palace of the former Kochi royal family along with the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, during his last trip to India in 2014. The palace is located on the Periyar's bank. The delegation included Kerala assembly member Anwar Sadath, Aluva Municipal Chairman M.T. Jacob, Municipal Councillor Jebi Mather Hisham and Cochin Regional Town Planner Pramod Kumar.