The Alappuzha town, known the world over as the ‘Venice of the East’, is blessed with beautiful canals and planned parallel roads. However, over the years, the lack of adequate planning and the tardy implementation of projects have resulted in the region losing the charm of its architectural magnificence.
The transformation that the district, particularly the town, has undergone has become the topic of a study by 55 architecture students, representing the Paris-based architecture school, L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris La Villette (ENSAPLV), and Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai.
The programme, undertaken jointly by the institutions, involves understanding the population trends, emigration and immigration witnessed in the district, tourism aspects and the importance of the canals as lifeline of the Alappuzha town. The group has been travelling across the districts for six days, collecting data required for their project.
According to Gulshan Kumar, a leader of the group, the team will collate the obtained information to formulate proposals for reviving the canals and initiating small-scale interventions that could prove effective in regaining the lost glory of the region. “While significant progress has been made by the authorities, there was need for ensuring proper waste management, protection of flora and fauna, and minimising the impact of pollution. Introducing changes in transportation facilities such as compressed natural gas (CNG)-run autorickshaws and electric boats would do wonders for the region,” he said.
Another participant was of the view that the canals should be revived for establishing recreational spaces around the water-bodies. “The area must be developed in a manner that allows pedestrians to move freely. The feasibility of utilising solar panels in house boats also must be studied to prevent pollution of the Vembanad Lake.”
The architecture students bade farewell to the district on Friday by preparing drawings of the various places that were covered during the course of their study. The sketches were pasted on walls near the boat jetty adjacent to the KSRTC depot at Alappuzha. The group has headed for Kollam, where a similar study will be conducted.
