Kuttanad Region in the state of Kerala, South India, is the
area with the lowest altitude in India. This Region has an area of almost 500
square kilometers. It is one of the few places in the world where paddy farming
is carried out below sea level.
Rain water from the springs of Western Ghats (Sahyadri
Mountains and hills) descends through four major Rivers - Achankovil, Pampa,
Manimala and Meenachil, into the Vembanad Lake in the Kuttanad Region. The 1252
meter long “Thanneermukkom Salt Water Barrier” was constructed across the
Vembanad Lake as a part of the Kuttanad Development Scheme to prevent tidal
action and intrusion of brine into the Kuttanad lowlands during summer. It is
the largest mud regulator in India. This Barrier essentially divides the
Vembanad Lake into two parts. The northern portion with a continuous chain of
lagoons running parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, with perennial brackish
water entering through Kochi estuary and two other estuaries further north,
namely Crangannur and Chetwa; and the southern portion of the Barrier with
fresh water fed by the four rivers. This Barrier has helped the farmers in the
Kuttanad Region by freeing the area from salinity, and facilitating cultivation
of three paddy crops: Virippu, Mundakan and Puncha, every year. It was believed that Kuttanad Region, the rice
bowl of Kerala, would make the state self-sufficient in its staple diet,
rice/paddy.
Although the Bund has initially improved the quality of
life of farmers; the Barrier badly affected the ecosystem; and it prevented
natural cleansing of the rivers and canals with brine, causing severe
environmental problems. Unfortunately, the government did not realize that much
of the nourishing food for the plants in the rivers and the Vembanad Backwaters
would be trapped by the Barrier, and fish that used to eat those plants too
suffered. Moreover, the construction of Thanneermukkom Barrier and other dams
in the Sahyadri Mountains and hills like Edamalayar and Idukki Dams lessened
fresh water availability at the estuary regions, which made the Arabian Sea
more salty and fewer fish could survive in it. The depletion of fresh water in
the Arabian Sea has affected the quantity of fish. This in turn made the fishermen who catch
fish for their living suffer.
Presently, the pollution level is very high in the Kuttanad
Region. The River Pampa carries in its course all waste materials from
Sabarimala in the Sahyadri Mountains, where a popular holy shrine is located.
Pilgrims throng each season to worship their Lord Ayyapan. Here sanitation
facilities are comparatively poor. The river is highly polluted due to
this. Large amounts of waste materials
including human excreta and toxic waste deposition and non-biodegradable waste
like plastic is high in this region as River Pamba joins Vembanad Lake at this
point. Another aggravating problem in the Kuttanad Area is the lack of properly
designed sanitation system. The number of households having proper sanitation
facilities in this Region is few. This
leads to pollution of backwater in this area.
Stagnation of water bodies is yet another matter for serious concern due
to the construction of new roads and land formations without any foresight.
Large hectares of land are under paddy cultivation in the
Kuttanad Area. The agriculturists use a lot of chemical fertilizers and toxic
pesticides on a large scale. Presence of toxic waste in the rivers, canals and
backwaters is causing a serious threat to the environment and gravely upset the
ecological balance. Severe degradation of the aquatic environment led to health
hazards of people inhabiting in this area. It is significant to have access to
adequate potable water, a basic human right. The number of medical cases
reported including epidemic break-outs and cancers are high in this Region.
Thanneermukkom Bund has disrupted the harmony of Arabian
Sea with the Vembanad Backwaters and rivers, and has caused unforeseen problems
like the lush growth of floating weeds or algae, on the surface of stagnant
water bodies, like African ‘Payal,’
and ‘Katapa Payal,’ water hyacinth.
These algae which are thrown out of the paddy fields in Kuttanad Region during
the monsoon season, have become a menace to fishermen casting their nets in the
delta regions like Kumbalam, the God’s Own Island, and its adjacent and adjoining delta
areas. Reclamation of ponds, canals and
paddy fields, blocking natural streams and closing large drains is also causing
damage to the environment.
Vembanad, the second largest brackish-water lake in India, stretches over
24,000 hectares in area and contributes to over 50% of the total area of
backwaters in Kerala, forms a significant component of coastal ecosystem due to
their immense biodiversity values in aquatic ecology and socio-economic
services to coastal population. Vembanad Lake provides a
habitat for many of decapods crustaceans as breeding and nursery
grounds. Crustacean fishery is one of the major resources of Indian estuaries
that include the commercially important shrimps, prawns and crabs. The Bund prevented the migration of shoal of fish from salt
water (Arabian Sea) into fresh water (Kuttanad Region,) and vice-versa for
spawning, growth and development and thereby causing depletion in quantity of
fish. Some fish like Pearl Spot (Karimeen)
and Giant Fresh Water Prawn (Konch)
lay their eggs in brackish water. Likewise, varied fish in brine like Sea Prawn
and Indian Oil Sardine that used to come to the backwaters as part of the ‘Chakara,’ laid their eggs in fresh
water.
It is, therefore, suggested that the government should open
Thanneermukkom Bund/Barrier on an experimental basis, to counteract the effect
of toxic waste and other pollution levels by allowing brine to enter the canals
and streams in the Kuttanad Region. The paddy research stations at Mankombu and
other areas should also make earnest efforts to invent or develop salt
resistant paddy varieties for cultivation in Kuttanad Region. This will help in the growth and development
of fish in the common pool, the Vembanad Lake and its estuary regions at the
mouths of the Arabian Sea.
MEMOIRS
Joseph J. Thayamkeril,
Lawyer, Cochin
josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com memoirs
josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com
josephjthayamkeril.google.com
No comments:
Post a Comment