A flooded house at Mulavukad in Kochi. According to Mulavukad panchayat member K.S. Ashalraj, tidal flooding has been serious in the panchayat, especially in areas lying close to fields that have been occupied for aquaculture.
Unusually high tidal waters have flooded hundreds of homes lying close to the backwaters and the sea in and around Kochi, throwing life out of gear for households in affected areas like coastal Chellanam, Thannonnithuruthu, Kumbalanghi, Edakochi, and Kuzhuppilly.
Thannonnithuruthu, which is part of the Kochi Corporation, was recently in the news with the Coastal Regulation Zone authorities clearing the way for building an outer bund around the island and the State government providing administrative sanction for the work.
While around 65 families on the island expect the works to begin in a week, the current bout of tidal flooding has inundated most houses, said P.P. Ambas, a resident, and leader of a group which protested against what it called the neglect of the island by the authorities.
He said most of the roads and walkways were flooded along with homes, where people were unable to even go to bed because their houses faced serious flooding.
He said the residents of the island were not in a position to relocate, and that they were forced to stay back while those who were better off had migrated elsewhere.
Dredging sought
Kochi Corporation councillor Jeeja Tenson, representing Ward 15 in Edakochi, said that tidal flooding was most serious in wards 15 and 16. She added that the backwaters and the natural canals around the area needed to be dredged of sludge and deepened to find a solution to periodic flooding. Flooding has become more serious, and more homes are under threat.
According to her, at least 500 homes have been flooded in the current bout of tidal flooding in the area.
The most affected areas in Kuzhuppilly panchayat, which have borne the brunt of tidal flooding in the past, include Cheruvype, Manappally, and the coastal ward 13, where dozens of households have migrated to escape the floodwaters.
According to K.S. Chandran, member of Kuzhuppilly panchayat, at least 70 households have vacated their traditional homes along the beach area in the past. “While the western segment of the panchayat, which lies close to the sea, usually saw heavy flooding during high tides, the eastern parts close to the backwaters too are now under serious threat,” he added.
Mulavukad panchayat member K.S. Ashalraj, representing Ward 4, said that tidal flooding had been serious in the panchayat, especially in areas lying close to fields that had been occupied for aquaculture.
When the sluices are not properly shuttered or not shuttered in time, homes get flooded as tidal waves rise. Flooding had also been reported from Wards 14 and 15 of the panchayat, he added.
V.T. Sebastian of Fort Kochi-Chellanam Janakiya Vedi, which has been pressing for a comprehensive solution to flooding of the coastal village, said that the current bout of tidal flooding was very serious. “While in the past, flooding used to ease a little during the night hours, the current spell has seen dozens of homes being flooded even during the night hours,” he said on Tuesday.
He said that the flooding on Tuesday had begun around 2 p.m. and the waters had continued to rise sweeping into homes in low-lying areas and smaller houses.
If previously tidal flooding ended by the middle of January every calendar year, over the past couple of years tidal flooding got serious even after February, Mr. Sebastian added.
Sustainable solution
According to him, only a comprehensive plan can bring about a sustainable solution as most of the areas along the backwaters, even in the neighbouring Alappuzha district, are getting flooded now. Deepening of the backwaters is of immediate urgency along with building of outer bunds and raising bulwarks against flooding.
Published – March 05, 2025 01:20 am IST
