The government will seek scientific solutions to conserve the Munro thuruthu (Munro Island) in Kollam which is facing the threat of submergence due to tidal flooding.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly on Tuesday that a technical institution such as the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) would be entrusted with a study to assess the reasons for the flooding and suggest solutions. Responding to a calling attention motion by Kovoor Kunjumon, he said the government would consider a special package for the conservation and development of the island.
Pointing out that the island had suffered damage in the tsunami of 2004, he said agriculture and fisheries activities were the worst affected. “The rising sea level and saline intrusion from Ashtamudi Lake pose the biggest threats to the island population today. Houses are sinking and roads and footpaths are damaged by flooding.”
Mr. Vijayan said the government had taken up the planting of mangroves, buttressing of canals and construction of bunds to prevent salinity ingress. Scientific farming techniques were also being introduced, he added.
Earlier, moving the motion, Mr. Kunjumon said 400 families had already fled the sinking island. With houses and roads flooded for eight months, the tourism potential of the island has taken a hard hit, he said.
Located at the confluence of Kallada River and Ashtamudi Lake, the island was named after Colonel John Munro, a former resident and Dewan of erstwhile Travancore. The island was created by land reclamation from the delta, making it vulnerable to flooding.
A study conducted by the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad last year had called for drastic steps to save the sinking island. It had stressed the need to formulate an action plan with assistance from the Green Climate Fund.
