The journey from Cheranalloor to Kothad via the International Container Terminal Road is a glide so smooth that the island can easily be mistaken for the mainland.
“Among the islands of Kadamakudy, it is Kothad that looks most like a city,” says Salini Babu, ward member of Kandanad and president of Kadamakudy panchayat, under which the island falls.
Kothad, home to about 1,500 families, is spread across three wards – Kothad, Kandanad and Korampadam. “Earlier, the three were different isles, separated by small canals. Over time, the canals grew narrower as land was reclaimed, and the region came to be called Kothad,” says M.F. Prasad, ward member of Kothad.
With its neat rows of houses and concrete roads on which private buses from city areas ply, the thickly populated Kothad has come a long way from its “everyone-knows-everyone-else-on-the-island” days.
Homestays, kayaking
Today, employees of a multi-specialty hospital at nearby Cheranalloor live in rented spaces on the island while “homestays”, which cater to bystanders and patients seeking prolonged medical treatment at the hospital, are a thriving business. There is also a tourist resort and a homestay for tourists at Kothad, besides kayaking facilities for adventure seekers in the waters surrounding the island.
Reclamation of land and the mushrooming of houses and other buildings changed the face of the lush green isle, once dotted with paddy fields and prawn farms. “There was more water than land at Kothad, just like the rest of Kadamakkudy,” says Prasad.
One of the numerous homestays that have come up at Kothad island recently.
Walking along the tarred road, he points to spaces which, a few decades ago, had been canals and farmlands. Today, they have been tucked away into the pages of history and the memories of old-timers, but portions of some canals have survived the onslaught, only to exist as mere shadows of their former selves – stagnant, clogged with plastic waste and forgotten.
The recent Coastal Regulation Zone norms have acted as a deterrent, in the absence of which the entire island would have been reclaimed, says Prasad.
“A person who left the island 20 years ago will now find it difficult to recognise the way back to his house,” says K.J. Francis, a resident, hinting both at the wave of migration that the island witnessed after the decline of farming and the rate at which the region has developed.
Pokkali farms
The unique Pokkali cultivation on the island disappeared gradually due to the rising costs associated with farming and the shortage of labour. P.J. Vincent, a farmer, says his family sold their farmlands at Kothad around the time the Container Terminal Road came up. “But farming is all I know and so, now, I work in fish farms in Paravoor,” says the 61-year-old, who took up farming after Class 7.
Most paddy fields and canals that criss-crossed the island several years ago have been replaced by roads and houses.
Sreemol M.S., a retired school teacher, says farming was at the centre of all activities on the island and the only school at Kothad would remain closed for about a week during harvest time. “It was called koythupootu (harvest holiday). Those days the entire family, including older children, would take part in the harvest. It was a huge festival of sorts.”
102-year-old school
The 102-year-old Higher Secondary School of Jesus at Kothad continues to remain an important cultural landmark of Kothad, along with the Sacred Heart Church and the vaayanasala (library). C.R. Treesa, a former student who is now a teacher at the school, says in her childhood, the school annual day was an event celebrated for about three days. “Back then, when commuting to the mainland for movies or plays was difficult, the annual day programmes were a major source of entertainment. The entire island would turn up to watch students’ performances.”
While the majority of students in Kothad and neighbouring regions continue to depend on the Higher Secondary School, many students began venturing out after the Cheranalloor and Chittoor bridges came up, says headmistress Sheeba K.M.
Students and others take the makeshift ferry, formed by joining two country boats, from the Kothad island to nearby Chennur.
Water transport
Though the dependence on water transport has reduced for the residents of Kothad, the island continues to be a crucial link for the islands of Chennoor, Chariyamthuruth, Puthussery and Pizhala nearby. A raft ferry, made by tying together two country boats, is still the sole link between Chennoor and Kothad, while the Pizhala-Kothad service was discontinued about four months ago. The service was becoming financially unviable and was stopped following instructions from the district administration, says the panchayat president. Another ferry service between Ernakulam and Varapuzha touches Kothad island and mainly caters to schoolchildren in the region.
Though the commencement of the ambitious Water Metro project was launched with a symbolic laying of the keel on Kothad island in 2016, land for the jetty is yet to be acquired.
The canal separating the regions of Kothad and Kandanad has grown narrower over the years.
Flooding, pollution
The effects of land reclamation were felt last year when almost the entire island was flooded, says Prasad. M.A. Sunoppan, ward member of Korampadam, says the low-lying areas of Korampadam and Kandanad were the most affected. A number of residents bring up the issue of river pollution and the need to remove accumulated waste to ensure the free flow of water. Benny Xavier, a resident, says his homestay, along with youngsters on the island, has initiated cleaning activities in the river, removing plastic waste once a month.
Much has been lost to time and mindless development, but Kothad has managed to retain some of its rustic charm and quiet and holds potential for luring tourists. As Benny says, “The focus now should be on responsible tourism.”
