Amidst the spectre of another flood in Kuttanad, people of the region have launched a social media campaign, Save Kuttanad, to bring to the attention of the authorities their woes and worries.
The miseries brought by the 2018 deluge are still fresh in the memories of the people and they demand immediate steps to prevent a repeat of the devastation. The sudden panic among the residents was caused by the back-to-back flooding in the region last month. Several parts of Kuttanad along with the Alappuzha-Changanassery road were submerged as a result of heavy downpour and an increased flow of floodwaters from the eastern side. Although floodwaters have retreated from most of the places, a number of low-lying areas remain waterlogged. With monsoon expected to bring heavy showers in the coming weeks and months, residents have urged the government to take steps to ensure smooth flow of water.
Desiltation incomplete
The people are raising concerns as almost three years after the great deluge desiltation of a large number of canals, rivers and Vembanad Lake aimed at increasing their absorption capacity and ensuring free flow of water has reached nowhere. Paddy farmers in Kuttanad have suffered huge losses in recent times following a series of bund breaches.
Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, has said the people of Kuttanad were on the verge of becoming refugees on their own land. He urged to stop proceedings of the Kerala State Legislative Assembly for a day and discuss issues pertaining to Kuttanad. “The State government should intervene to find a lasting solution to the problems faced by Kuttanad. It should dredge the leading channel of the Thottappally spillway, remove sediments from Vembanad Lake, increase the depth of AC canal and remove weeds from other canals to ensure free flow of water. It should also build bunds in a scientific manner and increase the height of outer bunds of paddy polders,” Mr. Suresh said.
