KOCHI: My wife was hospitalised for more than a week after slipping on the waterlogged floor of our house. We have also not been able to cook food in our home for the past one month because of the issue,” says V K Narayanan, a 74-year-old resident of Kannupillai Kettu (ward 13) of Edavanakkad panchayat, part of Vypeen islands.
Narayanan’s house is among the 200 houses in Kannupillai Kettu and village ward no 12 that have been severely flooded in the high tide over the past few weeks. According to him, owners running the nearby shrimp farms known as ‘Kannupillai Kettu and Thoppil Kettu’ are primarily to blame for the waterlogging crisis which has increased manifold since the 2018 floods.
Shrimp farms to blame
“Waterlogging keeps recurring in the area as the shrimp farm owners allow water (sourced from Vembanad lake) to collect in the area for a certain period. As a result, many houses face the threat of submergence,” said Joshy V N, a resident. The water from the shrimp farms merges with the sewage, thereby emanating a foul smell.
According to Joshy, the shrimp farm owners refuse to reduce the level of the water in their farms despite the severity of the problem. “The situation is not caused entirely due to high tide as the water level in the nearby stream known as ‘Puthen Thodu’ is lower in comparison to the levels in these shrimp farms,” added Joshy.
Man-made disaster
The levelling of three ponds and six small streams in the area by a private landowner a few years ago is another reason for the increased water levels. “Water enters from the Thoppil Kettu into our house. It could have been contained if the streams and ponds were not reclaimed,” said Nirmala V K, another resident. She added that the residents in the area have been demanding the shrimp farm owners to increase the height of the bund around the farms, since 2011.
Hope on the horizon?
Even though the residents alerted the panchayat officials about waterlogging a month ago, the latter are yet to take a call on the issue. According to Eloor Gopinath, environmentalist and secretary of All Kerala River Protection Council, residents and members of the council had staged a protest (adhering to Covid protocol) on Wednesday near Edavanakkad panchayat office, seeking a permanent solution to the issue. “We met the panchayat president and secretary who promised us that a decision will be made within the next 10 days after a meeting with the shrimp farm owners and contractors,” said Gopinath. He added that the affected residents should receive relief through the Collector’s disaster management fund.
Meanwhile, Shahul Hameed, president of Thoppil Kettu Samajam, denied the claims of the residents that the water from the shrimp farms is the main culprit behind the flood-like situation. “We have spent around Rs 30,000 recently to increase the height of a 150-metre portion of the bund around the fish farm after a few residents expressed their concern regarding the same,” he said.
He stressed that a certain level of water has to be maintained in the farms -- in rotation to the the level of the stream outside -- to prevent the bunds from collapsing. Shahul instead connected the issue to the residents who haven’t raised their lands for 50 years. He further mentioned that a rise in water levels in government-protected streams nearby has also created flooding. Sabu K Issac, additional district magistrate in charge of the Revenue Divisional office (Fort Kochi) said that he wasn’t aware of the waterlogging crisis and will seek a report from the Tahsildar on the same.
Acted as per concerns
Shahul Hameed, president of Thoppil Kettu Samajam, stressed that a certain level of water has to be maintained in the shrimp farms to prevent the bunds from collapsing. A 150-metre portion of the bund has been increased after the residents raised complaints