Experts have called for an integrated approach with mechanical intervention as the mainstay to solve the problem of water hyacinth in Central Kerala waterbodies.
Biocontrol and use of microbes to contain the spread of water hyacinth are effective in limited areas whereas the problem in most of the waterbodies in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts was extensive, sources in Kerala Agricultural University said. It was also not advisable to use weedicides, they said.
It is estimated that about 20,000 sq.km. of waterbodies are affected by the spread of hyacinth in Central Kerala districts.
Seasonal phenomenon
The phenomenon is seasonal. The spread starts with the end of the rainy season when waterbodies are relatively less salty. They disappear as rains decrease and waterbodies get more salty. However, during the time of its spread, water hyacinth pose problems varying from disruption of free flow in waterbodies to congestion that brings movement of both cargo and people to a halt.
Tourism boat operator P.B. Saju in Ernakulam said that water hyacinth affected the free flow of boats. “This season being down because of COVID-19 restrictions, it was not a problem. But most often, boat engines are choked by water weeds especially during the opening months of the tourism season,” he said. “Boats have to be stopped often to clear the engines,” he added. He said that the problem was mostly seasonal and affected the services in both Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts.
Sources in Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore said that the public sector company moved about 3.5 lakh tonnes of raw materials every year using the national waterway between Kochi port and its two company premises. But they pointed out that the problem was mostly seasonal and that the Inland Waterways Authority took steps to ease the congestion of the waterway periodically.
It is estimated that about six lakh tonnes of cargo is moved every year using inland waterways. The waterway is used intensively in Central Kerala, in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.
