KOCHI: High tide, which used to be a normal natural phenomenon called Vrishchikam veliyettam (between November and February), has taken on threatening form in the city, damaging the lives and properties of those living close to Vembanad lake and its canals.
“Until last year, during high tide, the water used to just touch the banks of the canals. But in the past two days, water has entered the compounds of many homes in low-lying areas within the Kochi corporation limits,” said Saju P B, a resident of Mulavukad.
“Recently, during high tide, even the pier at the Ernakulam boat jetty got submerged,” he added. According to Sumesh Pulikkaparambil, a resident of Palamattom Road under division 15 of the Kochi Corporation, the high tide that begins at 5am continues till around 9am. “The water starts to recede very slowly after 10am, but unlike earlier, it enters houses by then,” he said. Sumesh said, “People living in these places are not rich. My own home, being built with the help of a life mission scheme, is getting inundated,” he said.
However, according to Oceanographic experts, flooding as a result of high tide is a different phenomenon. “Tides are a natural phenomenon happening as a result of the gravitation pull of the moon and the sun. This waterlogging is different. The underlying causes need to be studied,” said P K Saji, assistant professor, Department of Physical Oceanography, Cusat.
According to V T Sebastian, a resident of Chellanam, even homes that never faced flooding are now getting inundated. “This situation is the result of encroachments into lakes and canals which had been acting as the conduit for the tidal surge,” said Sebastian. Now, with no place to go, the water is breaching the banks of the canals and lakes, he added.
“There is also the problem of the decrease in the depth of the canals and lakes,” said Saju. In the past, the silt accumulated in the lakes used to be dredged and this maintained their depth. Sebastian said another causative factor is the increasing depth of the Cochin Harbour.
“By 2025, the depth of the harbour will be increased to 25m to facilitate smooth sailing of the merchant ships. This would cause flooding in areas like Panampilly Nagar, Girinagar, Kundanoor, Vyttila and Kaloor,” he said. Palluruthy also started experiencing flooding in the last two days.
Solution
According to Josy John, a civil engineer and Corporate Safety Head at Tata Consulting Engineers, steps can be taken to reduce the impact of the vagaries of nature. “Kochi Corporation can come up with plans to mitigate flooding due to tidal surge by conducting a survey and marking the maximum tide level in every division using a marking stone. This will help the residents decide the height to which their houses need to be raised,” he said.