Dharma Kovvuri has been appointed chair of the UK’s North West region Advisory Board by the Canal & River Trust.
Dharma, who has a senior 30-year career based in the North West and is currently a Dean and Academic Director at the University of Central Lancashire, is appointed as the Trust campaigns to raise the funds and support needed to keep the region’s canals maintained.
The voluntary role, for an initial three-year term, will see Dharma lead the region’s Advisory Board, as the Trust seeks to connect with communities, businesses and local authorities, as well as individual donors and volunteers.
“Supporting thousands of jobs in consumer industries and providing vital habitat for wildlife, the North West’s canal network has shaped our communities and been part of our landscape for hundreds of years,” said Dharma.
“Our canals have been reinvented from commercial thoroughfares to transport goods, to a vital resource of today, where millions of us living in the region can access nature and enjoy the health and well-being benefits of being by water, on our doorstep.”
The region covers 439 miles of canals, from Cumbria and Lancashire in the north, down into Cheshire and includes the cities of Liverpool and Manchester as well as canal landmarks and attractions such as Anderton Boat Lift, the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port, and Liverpool South Docks.
“With such a strong affinity for the North West and its waterways, we are delighted Dharma is chairing our Regional Advisory Board,” said Jon Horsfall, regional director of North West at the Trust.
“From Lancaster to Liverpool and Rochdale through Manchester to the River Weaver, this network of waterways in the region is diverse, connecting the countryside to the city. I’m looking forward to working with him to connect communities, businesses and partners to this valuable and unique resource on their doorstep.”
