The coastlines of Kumarakom, a picturesque destination on the banks of the Vembanad lake, will soon get a bio-wall to shield itself from soil erosion and recurring floods.
The bio-wall is part of a unique project that the Kumarakom grama panchayat has embarked on to develop a belt of mangrove plants around the region that faced frequent flooding during monsoons.
The project is being implemented under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
To begin with, as many as 2,000 mangrove plants, sourced from the Social Forestry Department, will be planted along the banks of all major canals and streams that criss-cross the region.
The bio-wall will start from the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary and extend along all major streams across the village. Alongside, a couple of islets inside the Kariyil polders will be developed as mangrove hotspots.
“The green-belt, combined with the deepening of the water body networks, will improve Kumarakom’s resilience to the recurring floods to a great extent,” said A.P. Salimon, president, Kumarakom panchayat.
Nestled in the backwater landscape of Kottayam, Kumarakom was hit hard by the back-to-back floods over the last two monsoons that also made life along the coastlines here increasingly perilous.
According to Mr Salimon, the mangrove hotspots are coming up at a location close to the residence of late Mariyamma Kurian, who was fondly called ‘Kandalammachi’ ( mangroves mother). “Besides being a vital flood defence, the belt will also harness the benefits of a natural ecosystem, act as a carbon storage system, and give a push to the fish deposit in the water bodies,” he added.
Commenting on the initiative, P.S. Shino, NREGS district coordinator, said at least 200 man days would be created under the project. “The areas for planting the saplings have already been identified and based on the response, this natural infrastructure model will be expanded to more areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, plans are also afoot to extend the mangrove cover to more areas vulnerable to soil erosion and flooding under the Ettumanoor and Kaduthuruthy blocks.
