kuttanad flood case study

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Kuttanad: a case in point

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In Kerala’s monsoon-ravaged Kuttanad, recalling a failed project to make the region flood-free

The rice-growing region is reeling from the worst floods in 13 years, with 170,000 residents now living in relief camps..

Since July 17, approximately 170,000 residents of flood-hit Kuttanad taluk in Central Kerala’s Alappuzha district have been living in 470 government-run relief camps. They still do not know when they can return to their homes. The rain has subsided but most villages in the region remain under water. “They will be allowed to go home only after the water recedes,” district collector S Suhas said on Sunday. “It is impossible to predict when it will happen.”

The villagers were forced to flee to safety as the monsoon gained strength and caused massive flooding, damaging their homes, destroying thousands of hectares of paddy fields and killing livestock. Human casualties were averted as the district administration quickly set up relief camps.

Kuttanad is called Kerala’s rice bowl. In Kainakari gram panchayat, one of the worst-affected areas, more than 10,000 hectares of paddy fields have been destroyed. “Farmers in our panchayat lost crores of rupees,” said gram panchayat member KP Rajeev. “As many as 190 relief camps are functioning here.”

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who undertook an aerial survey of Kuttanad on July 21, said the situation was unprecedented. On July 26, the state government declared Alappuzha and neighbouring Kottayam districts flood-hit on the recommendation of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority. This makes the districts eligible for flood control measures, including crop insurance for farmers.

Data released by the India Meteorological Department shows Alappuzha has received 8% rain in excess this monsoon. Between June 1 and July 25, the district received 1,128.7 mm of rain against a normal average of 1,044.9 mm.

Apart from the destruction and displacement, the flooding of Kuttanad points to its failed wetland ecosystem development project. Under the Kuttanad package, as it is popularly called, the Central government had in 2008 sanctioned Rs 2,139.8 crore to revive agriculture in the region, restore its ecology and make it flood-free. This was done on the suggestion of renowned scientist MS Swaminathan, who hails from Kuttanad. However, residents and people’s representatives say corruption and lack of coordination between government departments scuttled the ambitious project.

‘A man-made disaster’

Kuttanad is nestled between the foothills of the Western Ghats in the east and the relatively elevated plains of coastal Alappuzha in the west, and lies below sea level. Floods affect Kuttanad when water levels in four rivers – the Pampa, Achenkoil, Manimala and Meenachil – rise during monsoon.

A 1989 study on water balance in Kuttanad stated, based on historic data, that floods in Kuttanad have a return period or recurrence interval of two years, five years, 10 years, 25 years and 50 years. According to it, floods with a return period of 10 years and above are severe, while those with a return period of five years are less severe. The last time a severe flood hit Kuttanad was in 2005.

In 2007, Swaminathan submitted his report on “measures to mitigate agrarian distress in Alappuzha and Kuttanad wetland ecosystem” to the Union Agriculture Ministry. The 215-page document emphasised the need to strengthen ecology, health, sanitation, crop-based agriculture, livestock-integrated agriculture, fisheries-based agriculture, Kuttanad’s tourism potential and measures to manage flood. Noting that floods occurred when excess water from various water bodies could not drain out into the Arabian Sea, it stated, “Lake encroachments, unscientific construction of roads, bridges and culverts, silting and aggressive spread of waterweeds block free flow of water, resulting in flooding to water logging.”

The report went on to state that floods, as a natural phenomenon, are essential to Kuttanad’s ecology, acting as a natural cleanser and replenisher. But it raised concern over the increase in the frequency and intensity of floods over the years and the damage they inflicted.

“Prior to 1970s, major floods used to be rare and there were only two recorded major floods,” it said. “The impact of these floods used to last about seven days to 12 days between June and July [southwest monsoon] and about three days to five days between October and November [northeast monsoon]. During such floods the water used to rise about three feet to four feet above the normal level, often entering houses in many areas.”

But uncontrolled or unplanned road building across the region with no regard to the direction of water flow had “seriously blocked floodwater ingress and egress, leading to at least four to five or even more flash floods in a year, each lasting seven days to 10 days, depending on the rains in the hills and in the Kuttanad plains”, the report noted. It blamed the government, panchayats and people for the construction.

To improve flood management, the report recommended deepening the Alappuzha-Changanassery Canal and removing all encroachments, water weeds, silt and other sediments that hinder water flow in the canal.

Dr Anil Kumar of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, who was part of the team that prepared the report, said non-sustainable development practices have taken a toll on Kuttanad’s ecology. “All the canals are choked now with water weeds and plastic waste,” he said. “Land reclamation is aggravating the situation. How can water drain off to [the] Arabian Sea when the waterways are blocked?”

He added, “I would rather call this current crisis a man-made disaster.”

Going off target

Activists say the project failed because it deviated from the recommendations. Another reason they cite is lack of coordination between the irrigation and revenue departments, which executed the project. They point out that the irrigation department used up a major share of the funds just to build bunds to block saline water from entering the Vembanad lake. The waters of the major rivers in Kuttanad empty out into this lake.

In March, the Kerala Assembly discussed the project’s failure when U Prathibha Hari, the MLA representing Kayamkulam constituency in Kuttanad, sought a white paper on package implementation, fund utilisation and how officials had derailed the programme. She also demanded that an Assembly panel visit the region to assess the lapses.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA told Scroll.in that government officials “should be held accountable” for lapses in implementing the project. “We lost a big opportunity to revive Kuttanad,” Hari said. “Those who implemented the project failed to do justice to the proposals.”

She also said immediate measures should be taken to ensure water flows into the sea and that human lives and agriculture are protected. “It needs a concerted effort,” she added.

Agriculture minister VS Sunil Kumar admitted the project had failed because of unscientific planning and implementation.

Anil Kumar of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation said, “It [the project] couldn’t achieve many of the targets because of lack of coordination between government departments. Agriculture minister recently admitted this in Assembly.”

He went on to say, “Our team was not involved in the implementation level. The government should have sought help of experts from India and foreign countries while launching such an ambitious project.”

Residents of Kuttanad say the special package has not done their region any good. “It failed because the government officials never consulted people before implementing the project,” said Kainakari gram panchayat member KP Rajeev.

The failure of the project notwithstanding, media reports suggest the state government is considering launching a second Kuttanad package, focussing on sanitation, water supply, flood control, management of water bodies, promotion of organic farming and responsible tourism.

“The second package will definitely help farmers in Kuttanad and reduce floods in future,” said Hari.

But the immediate challenge is to ensure rehabilitation of the flood affected and disease prevention, she pointed out. “Epidemics may spread when the water begins to recede,” she said. “Let’s brace for the tough test.”

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Why are residents of low-lying Kuttanad abandoning their homes?

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• Kuttanad, a waterlogged region that spreads over 110,000 hectares, is one of the few places in the world where farming activities are being held below sea level.
• Now, a large number of families are abandoning Kuttanad as they are unable to withstand the impacts of climate change and unscientific infrastructure projects.
• As per the Kerala government’s estimate, over 6000 families of Kuttanad with over 30,000 members have abandoned their houses and properties in the last two years.

Kuttanad in Kerala is a picture perfect location with vast waters surrounding its palm-fringed emerald islets. This region of the Alappuzha district in Kerala lies more than two metres below sea level and has the lowest altitude in India. It is serviced by the state’s significant rivers Pampa, Meenachil, Achan Kovil and Manimala in addition to Vembanad-Kol wetland , India’s second-largest wetland ecosystem. Luxury houseboats occupy the lake and several canals link it with the rivers, while numerous cottages and eateries dot the islands.

Kuttanad is a waterlogged region that spreads over about 110,000 hectares. Of it, more than 50,000 hectares remain submerged in water for most of the year. Widely known as the rice bowl of Kerala , it is one of the few places in the world, and the only one in India, where farming activities are being held below sea level. The region has more than 1.8 million residents, and most of them are agricultural workers who do not own the rice fields where they work.

According to K. G. Padmakumar, special officer and director of Kuttanad-based International Research and Training Centre for Below Sea Level Farming ( IRTCBSF ), the once abundant paddy cultivation has given the region its name. It is a massive area of reclaimed land which remains supported by fragile dikes from vast amounts of water.

But the region that once attracted settler farmers from outside is now seeing an exodus as many local people, unable to withstand the effects of climate change and human factors, are abandoning the region. Everybody who can, is leaving now and Kuttanad is turning into a cluster of ghost villages surrounded by water, says Santhosh Eruthiyel, who recently left Kuttamangalam Island in Kainakary panchayat to go to Cherthala. On the other hand, Cherthala region, thirty kilometres away, faces no issues of waterlogging and food. As per the state government’s estimate, over 6000 families of Kuttanad have abandoned their houses and properties in the last two years.

Those who can, leave

The waters in the rivers and the Vembanad Lake ecosystem, which were an icon of prosperity are now turning into a threat to the lives and livelihood of the people.

Eruthiyel, who lived in Kainakary all his life, is now nostalgic about his abandoned house, which once had beauty and tranquillity. “It was after the massive Kerala floods of 2018 that my family decided to leave. We have been facing at least half a dozen floods a year for over a decade and things got aggravated after the 2018 floods. Now, everything remains submerged for a long time. How can you cook and eat in a kitchen filled with water? Nights are fearful as water can enter anytime without warning. Whenever there is rain, the outer bounds of the paddy fields suffer breach, risking numerous lives,” he says. A professional electrician, Eruthiyel, bought a piece of land at Poojaveli in Cherthala and built a house and now sleeps without fear of the waters threatening to disrupt nights.

But for Vinodini Raju, her husband and two school-going daughters who live in the waterlogged Kanakaseri Island in Kainakary panchayat, there is no means to abandon the house built using bank loans and find another outside the region. Most parts of their house, including the kitchen and toilet, remain inundated for over seven months of a year, said her daughters Pooja and Anamika, who study at the higher secondary level.

The same is the case of Shyja and her husband Jyothish of Meenappulli, whose house is almost entirely inundated. A cook with a houseboat, Jyothish was laid off and unemployed after the COVID-19 lockdowns put a halt on domestic and foreign tourists coming to the region.

For sixty-two-year old widow V. Sasiamma, some government aid turned out to be a bit of luck just ahead of the southwest monsoon. She left her home in Kainakary, which had recurring floods, to buy a plot of land in Muhamma near Cherthala town.

When contacted by Mongabay-India, Kuttanad taluk officer T. I. Vijayasenan confirmed that there is a trend among families, who can afford it, to buy land outside Kuttanad and build houses there. People are migrating to nearby Cherthala, Alappuzha and Changanassery. “The poor have nowhere to go, and they are becoming victims of frequent flooding. The government is now evolving strategies to prevent flooding in Kuttanad, but those may take time,” he says.

“We have become climate refugees. We are losing our land. In addition to climate change, unscientific construction of large-scale tourism resorts, roads, bridges and other infrastructure facilities have contributed to the present grim situation . Lack of river management and backwater region protection facilities are making the situation worse,” said P. B. Vijimon, who recently bought land in Kalavoor in Alappuzha and started constructing a new house there. P. Prasad, a Cherthala-based real estate broker, said he has been receiving numerous inquiries from people of Kuttanad who have no option other than relocation.

“For us, life is not the same since the devastating deluge of 2018. We are forced to either flee and rent or buy a house in less flood-prone nearby areas or continue to live here fearing floods of different magnitudes whenever it rains,” said M. D. Salim, a rice farmer of Kanakassery.

2018 floods changed lives and livelihoods

The wetland agriculture system of Kuttanad is a unique one that facilitates paddy cultivation below sea level on small patches of land created by draining delta swamps in brackish waters. “The whole Kuttanad has over 500 years of history of draining delta swamps manually by poor Dalit workers who remained slaves of powerful landlords. The whole region is artificial and is made of reclamation using traditional means,’’ said Padmakumar of IRTCBSF.

Here the agricultural system is divided into three segments: wetlands are used for paddy activities and catching fish while the garden lands are used for coconut, tuber and food crops plantation. In addition, water areas are being used for inland fishing and shells. “The rice and fish cultivation had ensured livelihood to most people here while houseboat tourism has evolved in recent years as a new form of livelihood,” explains Padmakumar.

Most people in Kuttanad agree that flooding was a part of their life for centuries. They knew how to live with water all around them, even during heavy monsoons. To them, water proximity was always a regular thing. But since the floods of 2018 , the character and after-effects of rains and floods have started changing. Since 2018, Kuttanad has been witnessing frequent floods with high devastation capability. Even when other parts of Kerala are not experiencing any kind of waterlogging, flooding is happening in Kuttanad.

“After 2018, I couldn’t sleep on rainy days. Instead, I would sit guard checking whether the water level is rising more than normal. During one such night, the water level increased suddenly in 2020, and my wife and I fled, carrying our eight-year-old grandson. We couldn’t take anything when we fled. Now, my house of decades is destroyed, and there is not even a stone left from it,” says B. Asokan, who now lives in Muhamma.

Now, the heavy rains and resultant floods are  impacting livelihoods as well. Last year, farmers here didn’t earn anything from paddy farming due to the significant scale collapse of bunds and the pandemic-induced lockdown. However, those who leased paddy lands had to pay the landowners. Farmers and experts say that the land areas in Kuttanad are fast sinking, and even ripples caused by moving boats cause water to enter the compounds.

Kuttanad people are living on land and houses they inherited from their ancestors through generations. As no one from outside wants to buy their property because of the frequent floods, selling and moving out has turned impossible.

Around a decade ago, the state government had plans of implementing a package worth Rs. 1,840 crore, that was developed by experts, led by internationally known scientist M.S. Swamminathan. However, nothing concrete has taken place so far.

Because of floods and inundation, people who can afford it are building new houses on large pillars and keeping their rooms far above the expected rising water level. Now the demand is that the government must construct such houses for the poor.

“Until a decade ago, we had a proper drainage system that could minimise the duration of flooding. Unscientific developmental projects like big bunds, massive roads and bridges have disrupted the existing systems. Flood management systems are required now, and they must consider the region’s fragile ecosystem too,” said K. V. Dayal, a local environmentalist.

Sixty-one-year-old P. Sisupalan, a resident of Kuttanad, attempted rebuilding his home after he turned homeless in the 2018 floods. However, the 2019 floods washed away the new house’s foundation, and then he completely abandoned the idea.

Local people say more families would be forced to migrate in the coming months as the government has done nothing so far to restore the ecology of Kuttanad and make it flood-free. “Climate change is now getting aggravated along with after-effects of wrong notions of development. We don’t know how long the place will remain habitable with hardly any measures to protect the low-lying areas. Those people who have no other place to go are forced to live here,” said V. N. Jayachandran, president of the district unit of Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, the state’s popular science movement.

Drinking water scarce in a land full of water

Though it is surrounded by water, Kuttanad is known for drinking water scarcity. In almost all parts, piped water is available only twice a week, that too for an hour, often at night. So people are buying drinking water by travelling to other locations using their country boats.

In many parts of Kuttanad, sewage is being released into the same canals from which people are drawing water for drinking and cooking needs. In many households, there are toilets built with direct outlets into the canals and streams of the backwater system. Water in the rice fields is polluted by pesticides.

Solid waste from medical college hospitals at Alappuzha and Kottayam, sewage of municipal towns of Kottayam, Cherthala, Thiruvalla, Changanassery and Alappuzha, the oil and faecal wastes from about 300 houseboats which are being operated between Alappuzha and Kumarakom, all find a dumping place in the Vembanad lake. During the famous Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the river Pampa turns into a sewage drain.

As per surveys conducted by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management ( CWRDM ) in Kozhikode, almost eighty percent of the people in Kuttanad rely on the contaminated canal water for their daily water requirements.

Infrastructure development has not only destroyed Kuttanadu’s fragile ecosystem but also made the climate change situation worse. The famous Thanneermukkam bund was constructed across the Vembanad Lake in 1975 to prevent saline water intrusion into rice fields, especially during dry seasons, thus enhancing rice farming. “The natural flushing through tidal movements which existed in the entire Lower Kuttanad for several centuries has ceased since its construction,” according to Madhusoodana Kurup, a fisheries scientist who conducted water balance study in the region in 1988-90.

“Kuttanad is a victim of misplaced and impractical developmental schemes. The backwaters themselves are vanishing due to climate change and human interventions. The government must evolve strategies that can involve the spirit of human coexistence with water and low-lying areas,” said IRTCBSF’s Padmakumar.

Banner image:  Vinodini Raju’s house is flooded with water for more than half of the year. Photo by Syed Shiyaz Mirza.

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Consistent floods, damaged homes force people to leave Kerala’s Kuttanad

Their eyes look bleak, their faces strained. Their houses – built on either side of the deep, broad backwaters – are dilapidated, thanks to the constant floods and heavy rains. For the people of the 13 villages that comprise Kuttanad, a delta region in Alappuzha district in central Kerala, life has not been the same since the devastating deluge in 2018. They have been forced to either flee – renting or buying a house in less flood-prone areas – or continue to live in Kuttanad, fearing a flood every time it rains.

The  wetland agriculture system in Kuttanad  is the only one in the country that supports rice cultivation below sea level on land created by draining delta swamps in brackish waters. The complex system is divided into three areas: wetlands used for paddy activities and catching fish, garden lands used for coconut, tuber and food crops plantation, and water areas used for inland fishing and shells. The rice and fish cultivation provides livelihood to a majority of the people while tourism, using houseboats, has ensured a new form of livelihood in the past few decades.

It all began with the 2018 floods

In Kuttanad, known as Kerala’s rice bowl for its rampant paddy cultivation, flooding was a part of life. Residents lived with water all around them, for them proximity to water was a normal thing. Their houses faced the backwaters, they washed their clothes and bathed in the backwaters, and almost every house has a boat for commuting to other places. Even before 2018, when the state witnessed one of the biggest floods in a century, floods would occur every year during the monsoon month of June. The floods and waterlogging were part of the people’s lives. In 2018 too, Kuttanad was affected by two floods – one in July and the general flood in August. In the July floods too, people in several villages were shifted to relief camps while some preferred to live on boats converted into temporary homes.

Read:  Ground report: In flood-hit Kuttanad, boats and ferries act as makeshift relief camps 

This year too, the state has been witnessing heavy rains  intermittently  caused by different  cyclones . However, the southwest monsoon, which usually starts in June, was mild this year. There were heavy rains even in May, which is usually summer.

“My eight-year-old younger son is worried about the rains now. He is scared of the rains, winds, flooding, because he saw how our house got damaged in the rains in May. We quickly shifted out of there,” says Jyothi, who now lives in Kuttamangalam village in Kainakary panchayat. She used to live in her ancestral house with her husband and two children for years. The family would temporarily move to a rented house whenever they were hit by floods. But this time, they left never to go back because their home was totally destroyed in the May rains.

Jyothi’s family, like scores of other people, is waiting for the compensation announced by the government to shift to a safer locality. In August 2018, the government had declared that Rs 4 lakh each will be provided to families who lost 70% to 100% of their house and Rs 10 lakh each to families who lost both their house and land.

“My sisters live in Edathua, I’m planning to move there. It’s tough for me to leave the land where I was born and where I lived all these years. This is the place where my parents were cremated. But now our land has become unliveable,” Jyothi tells TNM, breaking down.

Vinod, a former ward member of the Kainakary panchayat and part of a group named Kuttanad Vikasana Samithi (Kuttanad Development Council), elaborates, “Floods have always been a part of our lives. But it was only after it affected Alappuzha in 2018, surpassing all the 13 panchayats of Kuttanad, that the outside world began giving more attention to the floods.” While people like Jyothi are waiting for the government compensation, those who moved into rented houses elsewhere find it hard to survive as they have to commute to Kuttanad for their livelihood.

People who were forced to leave Kuttanad

Asokan, a hairstylist, lost his house in the 2020 floods. While the floods in 2018 and 2019 impacted most parts of the state, in 2020 the floods hit some parts. In August 2020, Asokan moved to a rented house in Nethaji Nagar in Alappuzha, 7 km from Kuttanad, but commutes daily to Kuttanad for work. It’s the only place where people know him and give him work. He walks to find work – like his father and grandfather did. “Post-2018, I couldn’t sleep on rainy days. I’d sit guard checking if the water level rose to more than normal while my wife and 7-year-old grandson (who lives with us) slept. It was on such a night that the water level increased suddenly and my wife and I fled, carrying our grandson. All those years we managed to live there, but it isn’t possible anymore,” Asokan recollects.

                                                  Asokan

“We couldn’t take anything when we fled, we were just keen to save our lives. It was the house (in Kainakary) where I was born and where I lived. But now there’s no place to go back, because to get the government compensation we have to give on record that we abandoned the house. Also, there’s not even a stone left from my house, it was totally destroyed. We never thought one day we’d be forced to leave our home,” he says. Asokan and his family stayed at a neighbour’s place for a few days before shifting to the rented house.

No government compensation yet

However, the government has not yet paid the promised compensation. Like Asokan, Shiji Mon too had to leave his home in Kainakary and now lives in a rented house in Muhamma. “It has been a year since we lost our house in the floods, but we haven’t received the compensation from the government,” he says. Shiji bought land with borrowed money, hoping to repay it when the government gives the compensation. “When we ask about the compensation, the collectorate and village officials say they don’t have any information. Now that I have borrowed money to buy the land, it has put me in more trouble,” he says.

Shiji used to work on tourist boats. But since the boats are not functioning due to the pandemic, he has been forced to do other jobs. “For that, I have to stay in Kuttanad looking for some random jobs. It’s not possible to commute every day from Muhamma as there are not many boat services (government-run boat services that connect different places in Kuttanad),” he tells TNM. The residents had staged a protest in June for the speedy disposal of the compensation amount. 

                                                                    Unnikrishnan's House 

It was only eight years since Unnikrishnan, who used to work as a postman, renovated his house and added more rooms. But the house was partially damaged in the August 2020 flood while a grocery shop he built adjacent to it was totally damaged. “The house was damaged after the bund collapsed. The agriculture officer, village officer and tehsildar visited the place and offered Rs four lakh as compensation. But nothing has been given so far,” he says. He is entitled to Rs 4 lakh as his house was partially damaged. 

Speaking to TNM, Kuttanad Tehsildar Vijayasenan says, “It’s for those whose houses had washed off in the flood that the government declared Rs 10 lakh compensation – Rs 6 lakh for buying land and Rs 4 lakh for building a house.” He adds that compensation has been given to those who lost houses in 2018 and 2019. But the 2020 compensation has not been dispersed yet. 

People who leave Kuttanad temporarily

Since the 2018 deluge, scores of people temporarily move out of Kuttanad from June to August. “We stay in rented houses for a few months and then go back home. Each time we have to find a house for rent,” says Lekha, who lives in Kainakary with her husband Shabu. They plan to build a house on higher ground. “We have agricultural land in Kuttanad… yes, we’re upset that we have to leave our native village. Since 2018 we’ve been anticipating a flood every year, the land in Kuttanad is sinking,” Shabu says. Once employed in Saudi Arabia, he now works as a manager in a furniture showroom.

                                                               Shabu and Lekha 

People stuck in Kuttanad

However, there are many who can’t afford to build a new house outside Kuttanad and so are left with no other option but to continue living there. “We make a living by farming and leasing out land. We stay with relatives during the floods every year, but this time we decided to manage here itself because of the COVID-19 situation. We don’t have any savings and so we’re not able to move to higher ground (by buying land or house),” says Kanakamma, a native of Pulinkunnu panchayat.

Kanakamma’s family would place sand-filled sacks on the edge of the lake so that water wouldn’t enter the house. She has two daughters, both of whom are married. “But they don’t even visit us often for fear of floods. My elder daughter, who has three kids, has moved (from Kuttanad) to a rented house on higher land even though she can’t afford the rent. My son’s wife also doesn’t live here as she is scared for her children. We don’t have a road, if we need to rush with our kids to higher ground the only option is by boat. The government has promised us a road and we’re willing to give our land to construct the road. We want to come out of this situation somehow,” Kanakamma says.

The rains have impacted the residents’ livelihoods too. Last year, they didn’t earn anything from paddy farming due to the bund collapse. But those who had leased land needed to pay landowners. People like Kanakamma are not eligible for the government compensation as their houses were not fully destroyed in the floods.

Those who have stayed back have made modifications inside their houses so that they won’t be forced to leave if there is a sudden gush of water. “The land is sinking and each time a boat passes by the ripples causes water to enter the compound. Our suffering can’t be expressed in words… The toilet would soon become unusable once the water enters the house, then the rooms would get flooded, making it impossible to cook or change clothes. We manage by placing things above the ground on bricks,” Vasumathi, another native of Pulinkunnu says.

                                                      Vasumathi's House 

Inside her house we could see home appliances and even the bed is placed on bricks. She goes to stay with her parents or her daughter when the flooding becomes intense. 

Kuttanad residents live on land and houses inherited from their ancestors over generations. Now, no one wants to buy their property because of the floods, hence selling and moving out has become impossible. “We tried to sell a couple of times but the price we were offered was too low. We won’t be able to buy land in any other place with the sale amount,” says Vasumathi. Another Kainakary resident Viswanathan says, “I have two acres of coconut farm. I don’t mind selling it for a throwaway price, but even then there are no buyers. The land is blessed with natural beauty, but for the past few years life here has become miserable mainly because of the continuous floods. They occur not once but twice or thrice a year. If it rains anywhere nearby, Kuttanad would be flooded.”

He blames the authorities for not implementing the Kuttanad package – envisaged by renowned agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan – in its true spirit. The Rs 1,840 crore package was launched in 2010 to deal with flood threats. “What I believe is that there is no mass migration yet from Kuttanad. The generation that now lives in Kuttanad consists of those who had migrated to the region in the 60s. They lived through all the complications in the region. This is the generation that moulded Kuttanad and hence for them leaving is an emotional subject. But their children, some who even migrated abroad for jobs, find the floods a problem and will never come live here,” Deepak Dayanandan, an environmental activist, tells TNM.

“Kuttanad is the only region where water flows from the lower to the upper area. The backwaters here are one of the deepest in Asia. The areas that hold water are higher and have less depth and so cannot contain water, causing the water to stagnate in the bottom/lower level, resulting in flooding. Now we’re eager to somehow leave the land, already so many have left. Life is like hell, we don’t feel secure. We continue living here as we’re helpless, my children have no plans to settle here,” he adds. His house too gets damaged in every flood, he would repair it only for it to be ruined in the next flood.

Radhakrishnan, another native of Pulinkunnu, faces the same predicament. “Our house got damaged in the 2018 floods. Every time it rains, it’s nerve-wracking. We keep our clothes and essential things packed so that we can leave immediately if a flood occurs, which we fear will happen in August or September. We too want to move out, but leaving our place of birth is heartbreaking. Also, if we move to higher ground localities, life would be more expensive. The authorities need to chalk out a comprehensive plan to address our issues,” he says.

Some residents, however, have found a way out by building houses on large pillars, with the inhabitants occupying the first floor. But again, not everyone can afford the expensive construction. “The Rs 4 lakh compensation offered by the government is sufficient to construct only the pillars, we’ll have to raise the rest of the amount,” Unnikrishnan says. Vinod says that only if the authorities wake up and act can Kuttanad and its residents be saved. “It will take at least 10 years to envisage a plan to address the issues of the region. If that’s not done, Kuttanad will vanish… that’s our fear,” he says.

Telhsildar Vijayasenan who himself is a native of Pulinkunnu said that he is aware that a lot of people are leaving Kuttanad as the land has been sinking after the 2018 floods. “There should be a scientific study on this. I feel the land I was born and lived is not the same. The change after 2018 was sudden, not a gradual one. The number of people leaving Kuttanad can be assessed from the decline in the numbers attending prayers at places of worship… it has become half of what it used to be,” he says.

“Kuttanad was a land of beauty, a land that used to give livelihood to people. But the situation is sad now. It’s high time to save Kuttanad,” he adds.

According to Deepak Dayanandan, most people who migrated are from places like Kavalam, Edutha and Pulinkunnu, and were able to afford it. “Even in this case, the older generation who do farming and similar livelihoods will try to continue in Kuttanad. But it is doubtful if anyone from later generations will settle here as there is no scope for urbanisation, to build multi-storeyed buildings,” he adds.

Post 2018, he says, some people raised their land so it wouldn’t get inundated and cause flooding in nearby regions. “Flooding will keep occurring, but its duration can be reduced with a proper drainage system. In many streams, there are water supply pipelines that have made the drainage system defunct. The government can first correct the drainage system, next they can build secondary canals. This will all take time and prove to be a herculean task for Lower Kuttanad, which is the region that gets flooded not Upper Kuttanad. Any plans to reduce the impact of the floods should consider the region’s ecosystems too,” he says.

“A major government intervention is needed, not on a small scale, it’s a long process. We may need to go back to the concept of development at a panchayat level,” he adds.

Read:  How the floods have worsened Kuttanad's water pollution crisis

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A Kerala Studies Blog

Tropical Cyclones and Flooding Woes in Kuttanad: A Clarion Call for Risk Mitigation Measures

Climate change and poor water management are leading to a situation where catastrophe is the new norm in Kerala’s low-lying regions. Aswathy and Varughese explain the gravity of the situation and the solutions at hand.

Aswathy Rachel Varughese Varughese Mathew

The rising number of Tropical Cyclones (TC) underscores changing geo-climatic conditions in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal resulting from an uptick in the surface temperature of the sea. The recent severe cyclones, Tauktae and Yaas, which hit India early this year were a dreadful blow to the affected states already reeling under the onslaught of the pandemic. The cyclones pummelled the western and eastern coasts of the country, hitting Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Gujarat, consequently dumping an enormous volume of water in these coasts. Changing climatic conditions will make such events more frequent, especially in the low-lying regions of Kerala like the Kuttanad Wetland Ecosystem. Kuttanad spans three districts⁠—Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta⁠—and has the lowest altitude in the country, lying two to three feet below sea level. Owing to its peculiar environmental endowments, the area is constantly under the threat of flooding. Frequent cyclones leave a devasting impact on the region, affecting the socio-economic activities of the people. This situation is a clarion call for risk mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability of the ecology and economy of the region. 

Worsening Conditions in the Kuttanad Region

The average number of cyclones formed in the north Indian Ocean is usually five in a year, of which one usually originates in the Arabian Sea. In recent years, however, the Arabian Sea is observed to be a bigger cyclone-generator compared to the Bay of Bengal, with more than four cyclones in a year on average. As noted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a significant rise in the sea surface temperature can be ascribed to this trend.  The threshold value of sea surface temperature is between 26 to 27 degrees Celsius, whereas the current value is above 28 Degree Celsius ( India Today, 2021 ).

In addition to these climatic changes in the western coast, with the onset of the southwest monsoon every year, Kuttanad witnesses regular flood crises from the four major rivers: Pampa, Achenkoil, Manimala, and Meenachil. The vulnerability of Kuttanad thus increases, with thousands evacuated from the flood-affected areas, paralysing normal life. Loss of livelihood due to the destruction of paddy fields and the loss of livestock is another serious fallout from the flooding events. The aftermath of the 2018 flood, in particular, left many homeless and deprived of livelihood. Such situations are expected to be frequent in those areas where the mean precipitation is expected to increase, making extreme rainfall events the new normal (Solomon et al. 2007). 

Apart from nonhuman factors like TCs, human factors are also responsible for the flooding woes in Kuttanad. The lack of provisions for the drainage of excess water into the Arabian Sea is a major cause for monsoon flooding. Encroachment of water bodies, unscientific construction of roads and bridges, and the uncontrolled spread of water weeds resulting in water-logging are other reasons for the growing flooding events (Swaminathan, 2007). The lack of flood control measures has serious consequences on the agrarian economy of the region. The slew of rainfall events has caused dire losses for paddy cultivators in recent times. The demand for building requisite bunds for flood regulation has not materialized yet (Rahul & Ranjith, 2020). This led to a considerable loss to farmers who were already faced with the challenge of delayed paddy procurement in the wake of the pandemic ( The Hindu, 2021b ). With the arrival of cyclones and the consequent rainfall this year, the irrigation department had to open the shutters of the Thottappally spillway 1 for ensuring the smooth flow of water from the Kuttanad region into the Arabian Sea ( The Hindu, 2021a ). 

Other economic activities in the Kuttanad region like backwater tourism, fishing, and maintenance of livestock also collapse during extreme flood events, and these losses have not been accurately estimated. Moreover, the local population that is heavily dependent on such activities is now also hindered by the pandemic (Krishnanunni & Menon, 2018). The ageing population of the region is under constant fear of rising water levels, and events like floodwater entering homes can be traumatic. Recently, there has been a mass exodus of the local population seeking safer places to settle down. About two hundred families from different districts of the region have already evacuated permanently owing to the flooding woes ( Malayala Manorama, 2021 ). This will have serious socioeconomic implications in the near future. 

The Need of the Hour: Heeding Calls for Action

Renovation and revamping of the existing Thottapally spillway and Thanneermukkam regulator seem to be effective ways out, and require immediate policy action. Experts have suggested concrete flood mitigation measures like constructing additional viable dams, cleaning out the sludge and sediments causing water-logging, and the construction and renovation of the outer bunds of paddy fields. The Kuttanad Package , a policy document encompassing measures to mitigate flood risk and agrarian crisis in Kuttanad, requires urgent attention. T he Kuttanad Package 2 policy notes that deepening the Alappuzha-Changanassery Canal and keeping a tab on human encroachments, controlling the growth of water weeds and settlement of sediments are the basic steps required to control the water-logging ( Ameerudheen, 2018 ). Following the extreme flood events, last year, the International Research and Training Centre for Below Sea-level Farming (IRTCBSF) in Kuttanad suggested storing the excess flood water in midland and bottom paddy fields through scientific landscape and waterscape management, while continuing farming in the rest of the paddy fields. Accordingly, the excess water from the river and incessant rains could be stored in such paddy fields which can act as dams to mitigate floods ( The News Minute, 2020 ). 

Authorities have not yet given serious thought to this suggestion and its effective implementation. Effective government intervention is quintessential to address the problem of mass evacuation from the region. Those who are socioeconomically backwards are left with no viable solution to the flooding woes and become increasingly vulnerable to the issue. Kerala, being a welfare state, should act upon this issue. Unfortunately, with the subsequent pandemic wave hitting the state and the region severely, rehabilitation in the event of flooding would prove challenging. This year is particularly crucial in these aspects. The economic and cultural value of the region is immense, making it imperative to find a permanent solution to reduce the risks of flooding through scientific approaches.

References:

• Krishnanunni, R. and Menon, V. A. (2018). “Kuttanad after the Flood”, Economic and Political Weekly , 53 (47), pp. 7–8.
• Rahul, N and Ranjith N.P.M. (2020). “Kuttanad and Covid-19: Farmers, Floods and the Pandemic”, Economic and Political Weekly , 55 (26–27), pp.7–8.
• Solomon, S., Manning, M., Marquis, M., and Qin, D. (2007). Climate change 2007-the physical science basis: Working group I contribution to the fourth assessment report of the IPCC (Vol. 4) . Cambridge University Press.
• Swaminathan, M. (2007). Measures to mitigate agrarian distress in Alappuzha and Kuttanad wetland ecosystem. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Union Ministry of Agriculture .

About the Authors : Aswathy Rachel Varughese is a research scholar at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore. Her research interests are in developmental economics, the economics of education and environmental economics. Dr Varughese Mathew is a retired principal of BAM College, Mallapally, Kerala. He is currently a member of Technical Support Group, Biodiversity, Government of Kerala. His areas of research interests are in environment, conservation, biodiversity, anthropology and church history. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected] respectively.

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Climate change, flooding woes and mass exodus of inhabitants: an analysis of Kuttanad wetland ecosystem in Kerala, India

• Published: 25 October 2023
• Volume 88 , pages 6317–6338, ( 2023 )

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• Aswathy Rachel Varughese   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5700-3446 1 &
• Varughese Mathew 2  

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Although the ecological and economic services rendered by the wetland ecosystems are innumerable, the exposure of inhabitants to hazardous climatic events is on the rise. For instance, the Kuttanad wetland ecosystem in Kerala, India, faces uneven rainfall patterns, leading to recurrent flooding. The present study examines people's vulnerability to elevated flooding risk in the region, factors responsible for migration in the wake of climate change and their adaptive capacity to such events. The primary survey-based study follows the theoretical framework of vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Physical asset loss, sinking houses, elevated health risks and loss of livelihood are factors identified for increased vulnerability to flood risks. The exacerbating vulnerability translates into the mass migration of local inhabitants. The Probit regression underscores the role of households' socio-economic background in migrating from the region, seeking safe havens. Marginalised social groups and people reliant on the local environment are most vulnerable. As per the study, the absence of pre and post-flood measures affects the adaptive capacity of the inhabitants. Given the gravity of flooding risk, the study suggests channelised policy measures that are quintessential to improve their resilience and adaptive capacity.

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Acknowledgment

We sincerely thank all anonymous reviewers for the valuable suggestions for improving the manuscript. We also thank Cochin Un versity of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and Indian Council of Social Research (ICSSR) for rendering the institutional support. We acknowledge Mr. Madhuraj P. K., Research Scholar, Environmental Science Department, CUSAT and Mr. Sibu Shivadas for the value additions of the work.

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Varughese, A.R., Mathew, V. Climate change, flooding woes and mass exodus of inhabitants: an analysis of Kuttanad wetland ecosystem in Kerala, India. GeoJournal 88 , 6317–6338 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-023-10971-x

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